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HISTORY OF TEXAS 

FOR SCHOOLS 



ALSO FOR GENERAL READING AND FOR TEACHERS 
PREPARING THEMSELVES FOR EXAMINATION 



BY 

MRS. ANNA J. HARDWICKE PENNYBACKER 



REVISED (1912) EDITION 



ILLUSTRATED 



Copyright iSq^y iqoo^ iqoy and iqi2, by Mrs. Anna J. Hardwicke Pennybacker 



AUSTIN, TEXAS 

MRS. PERCY V. PENNYBACKER 

PUBLISHER 




SuPT. PERCY V. PEXNYBACKER, 
Born Paris, Texas, 

Feby. 17, 1856, 

Died May 15, 1899. 

For Eleven Years Publisher of 

PgNNYBACKER's TbXAS Hi^TORY. 



t CI.A3'^0055 




PREFACE 

As has often been said, there is no other State ir, 
the Union whose history presents such varied and 
romantic scenes as does that of Texas. This alone 
would recommend it to the general reader and the earnest 
student. But there is, in addition to its interest, a 
potent reason why every school in the State should 
give Texas History a place in its course of study. No 
one who learns well the lessons therein taught can fail 
to become a better and a wiser citizen. 

This volume attempts to picture the principal events 
in our history in an easy, natural, and yet vivid style. 

V 



VI PREFACE 

It is written from the standpoint of a teacher who be- 
Heves that success in teaching history demands not only 
a Hve instructor, but also a live text-book. No pains 
have been spared to obtain the opinion of the best au- 
thorities on every disputed point ; accuracy has never 
been sacrificed for the sake of an attempt at a " brilliant 
period " ; yet, on the other hand, every effort has been 
made to render the subject fascinating to the child mind. 
It is hoped that the numerous maps and illustrations 
will aid both the teacher and the pupil. Special atten- 
tion is called to the Supplementary Work at the close of 
each era. The limited space of a text-book forbids fur- 
ther details as to biographies, manners, and customs, 
as it also excludes additional extracts from original 
papers ; but those that are given will be sufficient to 
guide the thoughtful instructor and to show that history 
is not merely a dry recital of facts. When one remem- 
bers that Texas History is studied from the fifth grade 
in our public schools to the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College and the State Normals, it will be seen that the 
preparation of a text-book on the subject is beset with 
difficulties ; the style must not be too abstract for the 
child nor yet too simple for the adult; subjects that are 
beyond the comprehension of the young pupil must be 
treated of for the benefit of the older student. To meet 
this difficulty the author has provided, in supplementary 
notes, a good deal of matter that should not be required 
of the younger children. The teacher will, of course, use 
his own discretion in omitting such topics and such notes 
as he deems unsuited to the needs of his class. 

The author has wished to show the causes and results 
of leading events, thus encouraging the scholar to dip 
into the philosophy of history. An earnest appeal is 
made to the teacher to develop more fully this feature 



PREFACE vii 

of the work. The pupil who learns to think over his 
history lesson, who asks himself the why and the where- 
fore, is not merely acquiring historical knowledge — 
he is also developing his powers of thought. 

No occasion should be lost to cultivate true patri- 
otism ; this means not the blind egotism that asserts 
our State to be without blemish, but the wise love that 
sees all faults, and seeing, resolves to correct the same. 
March 2d and April 21st should never pass without 
some exercise that tends to make our youth revere and 
honor the men who made those days immortal. 

In presenting this revised edition of Pennybacker's. 
History of Texas, the author wishes to return grateful 
acknowledgment to the late Dr. George P. Garrison, 
Professor of History in the University of Texas, 
whose historical criticism and friendly counsel, so gen- 
erously given, have been invaluable. The author is also 
indebted to Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, Department of His- 
tory, University of California, to the late Judge C. W. 
Raines and Mr. E. W. Winkler of the State Library. 
Through the fine courtesy of the authors, several illus- 
trations from Bolton and Barker's " With the Makers 
of Texas " arc reproduced. The encouraging words and 
cordial assistance of her co-workers, the teachers of 
Texas, will ever be cherished by the author, who takes 
this opportunity of thanking them. 

Anna J. Hardwicke Pennybacker. 

Austin, Texas, May, 1912. 




ERA I.— EXPLORERS AND FIRST SETTLERS. 



French Claims 

La Salle 

La Salle's Return 

La Salle's Last \'oyage . 

La Salle and Beaujeu . 

Fort St. Louis 

Search for the Mississipp 

Murder of La Salle . 

The Colony .... 

Spanish Claims 

Spanish Search for La Salle 

First Texas Mission . 

Crozat Grant 

Attempts to Open Trade 

Saint-Denis .... 

Spanish Expedition . 

Founding of San Antonio 

East Texas Missions Abandoned 

A Noble Marquis 

Colonists 

Louisiana Ceded to Spain 
Native Indians 
The Name Texas 











PAGE 


Numbers of Indians . . . . i6 


Timber Tribes 






l6 


Food . . . 








T7 


Bufifalo Hunting 








17 


Dress 








18 


Religion 








18 


Plains Tribes . 








20 


Coast Tribes . 








21 


Indian Wars and Mi 


^ration 


s 


21 


Moral Condition of In. Hans 




22 


Beginning of Missions . 




23 


Plan of Missions 




23 


Life in Missions . 


. 




24 


The Alamo . . 






26 


San Jose 






26 


Concepcion 






28 


Other Missions 






29 


Last Mission 






30 


Condition of Texas 






30 


Summary 






31 


Supplementary Work 




. 32 


Blackboard Analy. 


As 


. . 




. 34 



ERA II.— ERA OF FILIBUSTERS. 



Affairs in Spain . 
Hidalgo's Revolution 
Republic of Mexico . 
Nolan's Expedition 



Fate of Nolan's Men 
Louisiana Purchase . 
Neutral Ground . 
Magee's Expedition . 



IX 



CONTENTS 



ERA II.— ERA OF FILIBUSTERS.— Continued. 



PAGE 

Siege of Goliad 41 

Battle of Rosillo 41 

Spanish Officers Murdered . . 42 

Victory at the Alazan ... 42 

Defeat at the Medina ... 42 

Republicans on Galveston Island 44 

Lafitte 44 

Texas Exchanged 47 

Long's First Expedition ... 47 



Long Asks Aid from Lafitte 
Long's Second Expedition 
Importance of this Era 
Summary .... 
Supplementary Work 
Manners and Customs 
Story of Mrs. Long . 
Story of Peter Ellis Bean 
• Blackboard Analysis 



ERA III.— ERA OF COLONIZATION. 



Moses Austin 59 

Stephen F. Austin .... 60 

Inducements Offered Colonists . 61 

Schooner Lively 62 

Austin Settles on Brazos . . 64 

Trip to Mexico 64 

Success of Mission .... 64 

Growth of Colony .... 65 

Later Contracts 66 

DeWitt's Colony 66 

James Kerr 67 

Gonzales Founded .... 67 

De Leon's Colony .... 67 

DeWitt and De Leon . . . d-j 

Austin as Peace-maker ... 69 

Edwards's Colony .... 69 

Troubles of Colony .... 69 

Edwards Ordered to Leave . 70 

Edwards Rebels 71 

Republic of Fredonia . . .71 

Fredonian Rebellion Fails . . "^2 

Unfortunate Results .... 72 

Empresario System .... 72 



Year of Immigration 
Texas Joined to Coahuila 
Local Government 

Indians 

Character of the Colonists 
Growth of Texas 

Summary 

Manners and Customs . 
Gentle Breeding . 
Visit to DeWitt's Colony 
A Wedding .... 
German Colonists 
Wacoes and Tawacanies . 
Tricky Tonkewas 
Kindness of Early Settlers 
Negroes from Atrica 
English Colonists . 
A Ball .... 
Barbecue 

Search for a Bible 
Private School 
Blackboard Analysis 



ERA IV.— ERA OF REVOLUTION. 



Mexico Distrusts United States 
Mexico Republic in Name . 
Causes of the Texas Revolution 

Decree of 1830 

Settlement of Convicts . 
Union with Coahuila .... 



Taxes and Custom Houses . 

Military Occupation . 

No Sympathy Between Races 

Captain Bradburn 

Arrest of Travis and Others 

Troubles at Anahuac 



CONTENTS 



XI 



ERA IV.— ERA OF REVOLUTION.— Continued. 



PAGE 

Turtle Bayou Resolutions . . 99 

Piedras 99 

Capture of Velasco .... loo 

Colonial Mejia loi 

Piedras Forced Out . . . .102 
Santa Anna and Bustamante . 103 

First Convention 103 

Mexican Opposition . . . .105 
Second Convention .... 105 

Memorial 105 

Constitution 106 

Commissioners 106 

Santa Anna's Plans . . . .107 
Farias Prevents Dictatorship . 108 

Austin in Mexico 108 

Austin Imprisoned . . . .109 
Santa Anna and Austin . .110 

Review 11 1 

Immediate Cause of Revolution 113 

Gloomy Outlook 113 

Committees of Safety . . .113 
War and Peace Parties . . .113 
Troubles at Anahuac . . .114 

De Zavala T14 

Austin's Return 115 

Troops Sent Into Texas . . .115 
Skirmish at Gonzales . . .115 
Capture of Goliad . . . .117 
Battle of Concepcion . . .117 

Texas Army 119 

Burleson in Command . . .120 
Ben Milam's Plan .... 120 
Storming of San Antonio . . 121 

Milam's Death 121 

Surrender of Cos . . . . 122 
General Consultation . . .123 
Governor and Council Disagree 124 
Matamoras Expedition . . .124 
Governor Smith's Letter . . 125 

Loan Secured 126 

Santa Anna's Preparations . .126 

Points of Attack 126 

Texas Garrison at San Antonio 128 
First Day of the Siege . . .129 
Succeeding Days of Siege . .132 

The Attack 132 

Funeral Pyre 133 



The State and the Alamo . 

Alamo Monuments 

Why Travis was not Reenforce 

Declaration of Independence 

Government ad Interim 

Recruits for the Army 

Houston's Difficulties 

General Urrea 

Grant and Johnson 

King and Ward . 

Fannin .... 

Fatal Delay 

Battle of the Coleto 

Terms of Surrender 

The Massacre . 

Santa Anna's Excuse 

Houston Decides to Retreat 

Houston's Reasons 

Runaway Scrape . 

Line of Retreat . 

Santa Anna's Movements 

Battle of San Jacinto 

The Pursuit .... 

Results 

Santa Anna a Prisoner . 
Rusk Succeeds Houston 
Treaties With Santa Anna 
Santa Anna in Danger . 
Santa Anna Released 
Mexican Troops Withdrawn 
Commissioners 
Texas Navy .... 
The " Horse Marines " . 
Army in Readiness . 

Summary 

Supplementary Reading . 
Governor Smith's Address 
Declaration of Independence 
Santa Anna to Filisola . 
Houston's Report of San 

cinto 

Santa Anna's Report of 

Jacinto 

Delegado's Account of San 

cinto 

Robinson's Capture of Santa 

Anna 



Sa 



177 



xii CONTENTS 

ERA IV.— ERA OF REVOLUTION.— Continued. 



PAGE 

Journal of Mrs. Dilue Harris 179 
Historical Recreations . . .182 



Search Questions 183 

Chronological Summary . . .184 



ERA v.— ERA OF THE REPUBLIC. 



Houston's Administration . 

First Congress 

Death of Zavala 

Austin's Death 

Congress Tries to Raise Money- 
Courts Organized 

Laws Passed 

Mexico in Trouble .... 

Texas Army 

An Unfortunate Duel 

Texas Republic Recognized by 
United States 

Lamar's Administration 

European Nations Recognize 
Texas 

Troubles with Cherokees 

Death of Comanche Chiefs . 

Plum Creek and Comanche Vil- 
lage 

Republic of the Rio Grande 

Santa Fe Expedition 

Removal of Capital .... 

Financial Troubles .... 

Lamar Founds Educational Sys- 
tem 

Progress 

Question of Annexation . 

Houston's Second Administra- 
tion 

Houston's Policy 

Mexican Invasion 

Texas Resistance 

The Archive War .... 

Second Invasion 



186 


Battle at the Salado . . . . 


201 


187 


Dawson Massacre . . . . 


201 


187 


Woll Returns to Mexico . . 


202 


187 


Mier Expedition 


202 


189 


Battle of Mier 


20J 


189 


Treatment of Prisoners . 


204 


189 


Escape 


204 


190 


The Fatal Lottery . . . . 


204 


190 


Remaining Prisoners . . . . 


206 


190 


Snively Expedition . . . . 


206 




Appeal to Great Powers 


207 


191 


Hostilities Cease 


p'.8 


192 


Regulators and Moderators 


208 




The Navy 


209 


192 


Houston and Moore . . . . 


210 


193 


Annexation 


210 


194 


" Polk and Texas " . . . . 


211 




Jones's Administration . 


212 


194 


Jones's Position 


212 


195 


Annexation Resolution Passes 




195 


Congress 


212 


196 


Offers From Mexico . . . . 


213 


196 


Texas Accepts Annexation . 


213 




Summary 


214 


197 


Manners and Customs . 


215 


197 


Mrs. Dilue Harris . . . . 


215 


198 


President Houston at a Ball 


215 




First Theater 


216 


198 


A Wedding 


216 


198 


An Exciting Evening . . . 


217 


199 


Locating the Capital 


218 


200 


Schools 


220 


200 


Search Questions 


221 


201 


Blackboard Analysis . . . . 


223 



ERA VI.— ERA OF THE STATE. 



Henderson's Administration , 224 

Causes of Mexican War . . 225 

Texas' Record in War . . . 226 

Results 226 



Wood's Administration . . . 227 
Bell's Administration , . . 22j 

Boundary Between Texas and 
New Mexico 22^ 



CONTENTS 



xiu 



ERA VI.— ERA OF THE STATE.— Continued. 



PAGE 
Compromise of 1850 .... 228 
Texas Accepts Boundary Bill . 229 

Gold Fever 229 

Austin Again Chosen Capital . 231 
Henderson Becomes Governor . 231 
Pease's Administrations . .231 

Public Debts 231 

Railroad Law 231 

School Funds 22,2 

Public Institutions .... 2^2 

Negro Uprising 2^2 

The Cart War 2zz 

Know Nothing Party . . . 21^ 
Runnel's Administration . . 234 
Indian Reservations .... 234 
Indians Driven Out .... 235 
Houston's Administration . . 235 

Cortina 236 

Indians on the Border . . . 236 
Condition of the Country . . 2z(i 
Houston Opposes Secession . . 236 

Texas Secedes 236 

Texas Joins the Confederacy . 2n 
Clarli's Administration . .22,7 
Preparations for War . . . 217 

Blockade 238 

Lubboclt's Administration , . 239 
Sibley Expedition .... 239 
Galveston Captured .... 239 
Galveston Retaken .... 240 
Battle of Sabine Pass . . .241 

Houston's Death 241 

Murrali's Administration . .242 
Banks on the Coast .... 242 
Few Battles in Texas . . . 242 
Condition of Texas .... 243 

Close of War 244 

Last Battle 244 

Lawlessness 244 

Hamilton's Administration . 245 
General Granger in Command . 245 
Reconstruction Convention . . 246 
Throclsmorton's Administra- 
tion 246 

President and Congress . . 246 
Texas Again Under Military 

Rule 247 

Governor Removed , , , , 247 



Pease's Administration 

General Hancock 
Convention Called 
Governor Pease Resigns 
Constitution Adopted 
Davis's Administration 
Texas Re-admitted to Unio 
Twelfth Legislature . 
Austin Again Chosen Capital 
Exciting Election Scenes 
Coke's Administration . 
Fears of Interference . 
Difficulties, How Met 
Constitution of 1876 
Agricultural and Mechanical 

College 

Coke Resigns .... 
Hubbard's Administration 
Penitentiaries 
Frontier Protected . 
Debt and Immigration . 
Hubert's Administration 
Governor's Policy 
Prairie View Normal 
Sam Houston Normal 
School Legislation 
Capitol Burned 
Ireland's Administration 
State University . 

Asylums 

Fence-cutters .... 
Greer County Question . 
Ross's Administration . 
Prohibition .... 

Drought 

New Capitol .... 
Money Received From United 

States 261 

New Public Institutions . . 262 
Hogg's Administration . 262 

Visit of President Harrison . 262 
Galveston Harbor .... 263 
Railroad Commission . . . 263 

Alien Land Law 264 

Confederate Home .... 264 
Sugar Bounty Refused . . . 265 
Division in Democratic Party . 265 



PAGE 

. 248 
. 248 
. 248 
. 249 

• 249 

• 249 
. 249 

• 249 

• 250 
. 250 
. 252 
. 252 
. 252 

• 253 

253 
254 
254 
254 
254 
255 
255 
255 
256 
256 
256 
257 
257 
257 
258 
258 
259 
260 
260 
260 
260 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



ERA VI.— ERA OF THE STATE.— Continued. 



Coxey Army 265 

Stock and Bond Law . . . 266 

Board of Pardon Advisors . . 266 

Austin Dam 266 

Financial Troubles .... 266 
Culberson's A<1itiiiii.stratiou.s zdy 

School Tax 267 

Land Leases .;.... 267 

Confederate Home .... 268 

Anti-trust Laws 268 

Arbitration Law 268 

Confederate Reunion . . . 269 

Special Session Legislature . . 269 
Governor X'etoes Appropriation 

Bill 269 

Fee Bill 269 

Spanish-American War . . . 270 

Sayers's A(1niiui.-> tration.s . 270 

Brazos Floods 270 

Ruin of Austin Dam .... 271 

Galveston Storm 271 

Commission Government . . 273 

Discovery of Oil 2T}, 

Confederate Reunion . . . 274 

Drought and Boll-weevil . . 274 

Railway Building 274 



Art in Texas 274 



North Texas Normal .... 
Lanham^N Administrations 

Galveston County Taxes 
Educational Matters . . . . 

New Institutions 

The Alamo Property 
Terrell Election Law 



274 
275 
275 
275 
276 
276 



Irrigation 276 

Canipliell's Administrations 2Tj 

Important Laws . . ... . zTj 

Library Commission .... 280 

Conference for Education . . 280 

San Jacinto Battle Field . . 280 

Colquitt's Administration . 281 

Home for Confederate Women . 281 

Prohibition Defeated . . . 282 

School Laws 282 

Texas Educational Rank . . 285 

Causeway at Galveston . . . 286 

Growth of University . . . 286 

Texas Veterans 286 

Conclusion 287 

Summary 287 

Search Questions 288 

Blackboard Analysis .... 291 



NOTES ON ERA I. 



La Salle 294 

La Salle's Letter to His Mother 

^95 

296 
296 
296 
297 
297 
297 



Names of La Salle's Vessels 

Joutel 

Beaujeu and La Salle . 

Tonty 

Site of La Salle's Murder . 
Oldest Town in Texas . 



Cabeza de Vaca 297 



Feather Massanet 297 

Origin of the Name Texas . . 298 
Names of Missions Near Nacog- 
doches 299 

Saint Denis 299 

Names of Indian Tribes . . 299 

Migration of Indians . . . 300 

The Stone I'^ort 300 

Life in the Missions .... 300 

Origin of Name Alamo . . . 302 



NOTES ON ERA II. 



Name Filibusters 
El Grito de Dolores 
Aaron Burr 



302 
302 
302 



Philip Nolan 302 

Musquiz 303 

Peter Ellis Bean 303 



CONTENTS 



XV 



NOTES ON ERA II.— Continued. 



PAGE 

Napoleon and Spain .... 303 

Arroyo Hondo 303 

Neutral Ground 303 

Magee 304 

Skirmish of White Cow . . 304 

Toledo 305 

Arredondo and Elizondo . . 306 



PAGE 

Aiiry and Mina 306 

Naming Galveston .... 306 

Lafitte , 306 

Dr. Long 308 

French Colony 308 

Dr. Long's Death .... 309 



NOTES ON ERA III. 



Moses Austin 309 

Baron de Bastrop .... 309 
" Father of Texas" . . . .310 
Mexican Independence . . .310 

Austin's Loss 310 

Oath Taken by Colonists . . 310 
Mexico's Different Forms of 
Government 311 



Austin's Journey to Mexico . 311 

Austin's Duties 311 

The Old Three Hundred . .312 
Boundaries of Austin's Colony . 312 
Boundaries of DeVVitt's Colony 312 
Hayden and Benjamin Edwards 312 
John Dunn Hunter .... 313 
Names of Empresarios . . .314 



NOTES ON ERA IV. 



of 



Alaman . . . . 
Branch T. Archer 
John Austin .... 
Plan of Revolution . 
Santa Anna .... 
William H. Wharton . 
Santa Anna's Opinion 

Texas 

Minutes of San Felipe Con 

vention 

Sam Houston 

David G. Burnet 

Lorenzo de Zavala . . . , 

Austin's Journal 

Austin's Address 

Milam's Escape 

Andrews 

" The Grays " 

Edward Burleson .... 

The Grass Fight 

Milam Monument . . . , 
Dr. Grant 



314 
314 

315 
31S 
316 
316 



317 
317 
318 
319 
320 
320 
321 
321 
321 
321 
322 
322 
323 



William Barret Travis . . . 323 

James Bowie 324 

David Crockett 324 

James Butler Bonham . . . 324 

Mrs. Dickinson's Story . . . 324 
Potter's Description of the 

Alamo 324 

Dr. Garrison on Travis' Letter 327 

Cos 327 

Survivors of the Alamo . . . 327 

Burnet's Cabinet 328 

Fannin's Death 328 

Colonel Garoy 328 

Deaf Smith 328 

Commanders in Battle of San 

Jacinto 329 

Sidney Sherman 329 

Houston's Interview with Santa 



Anna 



329 



President Andrew Jackson . . 329 
San Jacinto Battle Field . . 330 



XVI 



CONTENTS 
NOTES ON ERA V. 



PAGE 

Houston's Cabinet .... 330 
Candidates Suicide .... 330 

Lamar 330 

A Pig Causes Trouble with 
France . . . . • • -331 



Fisher and Green 

Ashbel Smith 

Anson Jones ..... 
President Jones's X'alcdictory 
Flag of the Republic 



PAGE 

331 
' 332 
■ 332 

332 
. 333 



NOTES ON ERA VI. 



J. p. Henderson 333 

Thomas J. Rusk 333 

George T. Wood 334 

Peter H. Bell 334 

Clay, Webster, Calhoun . . 334 

Elisha M. Pease 334 

Scaling Public Debt . . . .335 
Hardin P. Runnels . . . .335 
Cynthia Ann Parker . . .335 

Edward Clark 336 

Frank R. Lubbock . . . .336 

Houston's Grave 336 

Pendleton Murrah .... 337 
Texas Officers in Civil War . 337 
A. J. Hamilton . . . . .337 

June 19th ^:i7 

James N. Throckmorton . . 338 

Iron Clad Oath 338 

General Hancock .... 338 
Edmund J. Davis . . . .338 



Fourteenth and Fifteenth 

Amendments 
Guy M. Bryan 
Richard Coke . 
Richard B. Hubbard 
Oran M. Roberts 
Peabody Fund 
John Ireland . 
Lawrence S. Ross 
James Stephen Hogg 
John H. Reagan . 
Charles A. Culberson 
Texans in Spanish-American 

\\'ar 

Joseph D. Sayers . 
Elizabeth Ney 
S. W. T. Lanham 
Alexander W. Terrell 
Joseph W. Bailey 
Thomas Mitchell Campbell 
Oscar Branch Colquitt . 



339 
339 
339 
339 
340 
340 
340 
341 
341 
341 
342 

343 
343 
344 
344 
344 
345 
345 
345 



ERA I 

EXPLOEEES AND FIEST SETTLEES 

(1685-1800) 

[For footnotes, sec page 294] 



FRENCH CLAIMS 



Introduction. — Some two hundred years ago had one 
been in Versailles (ver-salz'), he would have found 
Louis XIV on the throne with all Europe paying hom- 
age to the " Grand Monarque." The King's mag- 
nificent palace with its beautiful grounds, rare flowers, 
marble statuary and wonderful fountains, was the center 
of all life, honor and pleasure to the groups of richly 
dressed ladies and gentlemen who formed the court 
circle. One spring morning in 1684 the announcement 
was made to the royal household that La Salle (la sal) 
had returned from America. 

America was still a continent of which little was 
known, but much was told. Men were ready to believe 
that there they could find the " Fountain of Perpetual 
Youth," that the wealth of Sindbad the Sailor was noth- 
ing compared with what one might gain in that land 
beyond the seas. It is no cause for wonder, then, that 
there were many eager to hear La Salle's story of his 
strange adventures in the New World. 

Robert Cavelier,i Sieur [syer] de la Salle, a younger 
son of an honorable French family, had been carefully 

I 



LA SALLE ON THE MISSISSIPPI 



[1683 










educated, as his parents intended him for the priesthood. 
Wonderful stories of the New World, however, led him 
while still a youth to Canada; here he resolved to find 
a new route to China. He thought this could be done 

by sailing- down the 
W^ h" ^i^mm" "^^ ^ Mississippi River, 

r i^^^^_.... 1 which the Indians 

told him emptied 
into the Pacific 
Ocean or the Gulf 
of California, but 
he soon found that 
the Gulf of Mexico 
was the outlet. He 

/-**^^Bk \ ^^^^ ^P t^^ hope of 
f- ""9?^^ finding a shorter 

I 4 ^ -^j way to China and 

bent his energies to 
the task of explor- 
ing the great river. 
After years spent 
in weary journeys, 
finally on April 9, 
1682, La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi.. 

Lands Claimed for France. — A column was prepared 
bearing the arms of France and this inscription : " Louis 
the Great, King of France and of Navarre, reigns; 
April 9, 1682." Amid the religious chant of priests and 
soldiers, volleys of musketry and shouts of " Long Live 
the King," La Salle planted the column and proclaimed 
to the silent, awe-struck Indians that in the name of 
the King he took possession of all lands drained by 
the Mississippi. 




De La Salle 



ERA I] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



He then formed his second great plan ; he decided to 
leave Canada, the frozen North-land, and to establish at 
the mouth of the Mississippi a colony that would hold 
for his King and his country all the fair domain he had 
explored. 

La Salle's Return. — This was the man who had re- 
turned to France and been honored by a summons to the 
presence of the Great King. We may easily believe that 

La Salle grew so interested 
in his theme as to picture 
in glowing words the 
grand Mississippi, receiv- 
ing tribute from river 
after river and at last 
}ielding its burden to the 




La Salle at the Mouth of the Mjssissippi 



Gulf; as he told of the rich lands on either side that 
now belonged to France, the King listened eagerly and 
questioned closely. La Salle asked that he be sent with 
a colony to settle at the mouth of the river, prophesying 
that the city founded there would be the largest in 
America. He argued that such a step would hold all 
his discoveries ^ for France, would in time give Louis 
an opportunity to conquer the Spaniards in Mexico^ 



4 LA SALLE IN TEXAS [1684 

and seize their silver mines, and, lastly, would offer 
the best means of converting the- Indians to the Chris- 
tian religion. In spite of the plots of numerous enemies, 
La Salle obtained from the King all he asked. 

La Salle's Last Voyage. — On July 24, 1684, La Salle 
set sail for America.^ In his four ships ^ he carried 
nearly three hundred women, soldiers, priests and me- 
chanics.^ He was well supplied with tools, cannon, pro- 
visions and ammunition. After a stormy voyage marked 
by delay, illness, quarrels and the capture of one of their 
vessels by the Spaniards near San Domingo,"^ the French 
came into the Gulf of Mexico. This was to them an 
untried and mysterious body of water. La Salle on 
reaching the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682, fixed the 
latitude but did not determine the longitude, hence it is 
not surprising that he continued his course too far to 
the west and reached the Texas coast. Fearing he had 
made a mistake. La Salle sent out an exploring party 
under Joutel ^ (zhoo-teF), who returned with the news 
that they had found a great river; in truth, they had 
found only the entrance to Matagorda Bay. The leader 
decided that this must be the west mouth of the Mis- 
sissippi and ordered his men to disembark. 

La Salle and Captain Beaujeu. — When La Salle 
presented his petition to the King, he asked to be made 
commander of every part of the expedition ; he was 
given the right to direct the course of the ships and to 
govern the soldiers and colonists on land, but Captain 
Beaujeu (bo-zhuh'), an old and tried officer of the 
French navy, was placed in command of the four ves- 
sels. This arrangement displeased both men as neither 
liked to be subject to the other. Misunderstandings 
arose constantly. Beaujeu advised against landing at 
Matagorda Bay, but La Salle would not listen. Orders 



ERA I] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



were given to bring " The Aimable " ( a-ma''-ble ) and 
"The Belle" within the Bay. On February 20 "The 
Aimable " was wrecked in trying to cross the bar. La 
Salle felt this was done on purpose by the com- 
mander, who was his enemy. The loss of the ship and 
her cargo — for little was saved — was a real calamity, 




La Salle's Landing in Texas 



as she contained the stores just then most needed by the 
colonists. Soon the forlorn little company was encamped 
on the shore ; poorly fed, poorly housed and surrounded 
by hostile Indians, they made a pitiful picture. Captain 
Beaujeu offered to go to Martinique (mar-te-neek') and 
get new supplies, but La Salle declined. Claiming that 
he must seek wood and water, also that he had carried 



6 LA SALLE IN TEXAS [1685 

out the King's commands since he had landed the col- 
onists according to La Salk-'s directions, on March 12 
Captain Beaujeu sailed away.^ La Salle, eager to be 
the only commander, probably rejoiced at Beaujeu's go- 
ing, but many of the colonists, already discouraged, 
begged to return with the captain. 

Fort St. Louis. — La Salle ordered a rude fort built 
from the wreckage of 'The Aimable " so as to give 
shelter and protection to the colonists. Leaving Joutel 
in charge. La Salle took a few men and went out to 
explore the country. To his bitter disappointment he 
found he had made a serious mistake : the Mississippi 
River was nowhere near. What was he to do? His 
nature knew but one answer — to keep searching until 
he found the lost river. But first, provision must be 
made for the women, the children and the sick, of whom 
there were many. The spot where they had hastily en- 
camped when " The Aimable " was wrecked had not 
proved satisfactory. ' On rising ground six miles per- 
haps above the mouth of the, Lavaca River, a good site 
was found and here La Salle erected Fort St. Louis. In 
spite of trouble with the Indians and the death of many 
of their number, the colonists were made fairly com- 
fortable. A large building of timber, roofed with 
boards and rawhides, was used for lodgings. Deer, birds, 
fish and buffaloes were plentiful ; fowls, swine and goats 
had been brought from France. 

Search for the Mississippi. — By October, 1685, La 
Salle felt he could leave the colony and search for the 
" fatal river." His first long journey was fruitless. 
His last ship, " The Belle," a personal gift from King 
Louis, the only hope of the colonists for returning 
home, was wrecked and ruined ; his men were full of 
plots ; violent illness fell upon him ; many of his most 



ERA I] EXPLOREk.; ^ND SETTLERS 7 

valuable papers were lost. Locking his sorrows in his 
own heart, he uttered no word of complaint, but made 
ready for a final, desperate journey. To obtain help 
for his colony he must find the Mississippi, ascend its 
waters, reach Canada, secure what aid he could there, 
and send one of his companions on to France to ask for 
more assistance, while he hurried back to Texas. 

In 1683 La Salle had left Tonty,^" his brave, trusty 
soldier-friend, in command of a little Fort on the 
Illinois with orders to keep a small body of men there 
and at the mouth of the Arkansas, so that in case of need 
the French from the south might send for succor. The 
hour of need had come and La Salle's plan was to reach 
Tonty as soon as possible. Before starting (January 12, 
1687) the great leader called the few remaining colonists 
about him and in tender, touching words, told why he 
must leave, charged them to remember the cause of their 
coming to America and to picture the disappointment 
of their King, if they failed in their purpose. Lastly 
he encouraged and bade them a solemn farewell. To go 
hundreds of miles over a country of which he knew 
little, where there were no roads except Indian trails, 
where swift and swollen rivers crossed his path, where 
wild Indians might at any moment rush upon him — this 
was the task that La Salle was undertaking. 

Quarrels. — The little party of seventeen contained as 
its chief men La Salle ; his older brother, the priest called 
Abbe Cavelier: two nephews, Moranget (mor-an-ja') 
and the " boy Cavelier now about seventeen years old " ; 
Joutel, who was to leave the best history of the expedi- 
tion ; the friar, Anastase (a-nas'-tas) Douay (Doo-ay') ; 
Duhaut (Dij-ho'), a man of good family and some edu- 
cation; Liotot (Le-o'-to), the physician. Journeying in 
a northern direction, they crossed the Brazos. The 



8 DEATH OF LA SALLE [1687 

weather was wretched ; the men were uncomfortable ; 
La Salle was stern and silent ; Duhaut disliked Moranget, 
who was both rash and insolent. Duhaut was sent with 
others to secure certain provisions buried by La Salle 
on a former trip. They found the provisions spoiled, 
but Nika, a trusty Indian hunter, shot two buffaloes. 
Camping on the spot, Duhaut began to prepare the meat ; 
he sent a messenger to La Salle asking for horses to 
carry back the heavy load. Unfortunately Moranget was 
dispatched with the horses; he and Duhaut quarreled 
violently over the choice pieces of meat. That night 
while Moranget, Nika and Saget (an Indian servant 
who was devoted to La Salle), were asleep, Duhaut and 
Liotot aided by others murdered them. When morning 
came these ruffians decided that La Salle too must die. 
Murder of La Salle. — For two or three days La Salle 
awaited the return of Moranget. He grew uneasy and 
seemed filled with gloomy forebodings. On March 19, 
unable longer to bear the suspense, taking with him an 
Indian guide and Father Anastase Douay, he started for 
Duhaut's camp. Seeing two eagles flying low and think- 
ing this a sign the camp was near, he fired his gun and 
pistol to let them know of his approach. Duhaut's 
party hid themselves in the long grass ; Duhaut and 
Liotot had their guns ready to fire. Duhaut's servant 
came into the open that he might be seen. La Salle 
advancing called out : " Where is my nephew ? " " He 
is down the river somewhere," the servant answered. 
Just then a bullet came whizzing through the air, fol- 
lowed by slill another. La Salle fell, shuddered, and 
without a word died. The priest, frozen with terror, 
stood unable to move. Duhaut, seeing his fright, 
shouted : " Take courage. We shall not harm you.'* 
Gathering about the body of their fallen chief, the mur- 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 9 

derers gloried in their bloody work. Liotot cried out 
again and again : "There thou liest, great Bashaw. 
There thou liest !"^^ 

The Colony. — The murderers did not prosper; they 
soon quarreled among themselves and both Duhaut and 
Liotot were killed. Joutel, Abbe Cavelier, the young 
nephew, Douay and a few others made the long journey 
northward, found Tonty and finally returned to France. 
They begged in vain that the King send aid to the helpless 
little group left at Fort St. Louis on the Lavaca. 

The colonists, after La Salle left the Fort, fared badly. 
They could not agree among themselves ; sickness, es- 
pecially the small-pox, swept away many. Finally the 
Indians killed all but five or six men, who were taken 
captives. 

What La Salle Meant to Texas. — In his search for 
the Mississippi, La Salle had wandered over much of 
East and Central Texas. He had also made the first real 
European settlement^- on our State soil. For these rea- 
sons France claimed Texas. We shall see to what this 
led. 



SPANISH CLAIMS 

Numerous Discoveries. — Spain declared herself the 
lawful owner of Texas on account of: (i) The discovery 
of America by Columbus; (2) The conquest of Mex- 
ico 13 (of which country Texas was considered a part) 
by the Spanish under Cortes (kor-tez) ; (3) The ex- 
plorations of Spanish officers. Among these explorers 
were: Cabeza de Vaca^* (ka-ba'-sa da va'-ka), Coro- 
nado (kor-o-na'-do), De Soto, whose expedition passed 
near the spot where Texarkana now stands, and Espejo 
(es-pa'-ho), who halted at El Paso and Santa Fe. 



lO THE SPANIARDS IN TEXAS [1689 

Spain also claimed the entire Gulf of Mexico and Kin^ 
Philip II forbade, on pain of death, any foreigner to sail 
on the Gulf. It was in obedience to this order that one 
of La Salle's ships had been captured. 

Spanish Search for La Salle. — At the time of the 
capture of La Salle's ship, the Spaniards learned from 
the sailors that the French were on their way to plant a 
colony on the Gulf shore. Four different times Span- 
ish vessels were sent out to destroy the intruders, but 
failed to find La Salle's fort. Expeditions from Mexico 
were also sent overland, but it was not until 1689 that 
Captain De Leon (la-on') and his men found the ruins 
of Fort St. Louis. 

First Texas Mission. — On De Leon's return, the 
Viceroy of Mexico inquired closely into the condition of 
affairs. From the reports of De Leon and Father Mass- 
anet^^ (mass-ah-nay) he decided to found a mission in 
Texas.^^ In 1690, at the request of the Indians, the 
mission of San Francisco de los Tejas (ta'has) was es- 
tablished in the land of the Tejas. ^'^ The mission was 
not successful ; when drouth ruined their crops the sav- 
ages lost faith in the " God of the pale-face " and were 
ready to rebel and go back into their old wandering 
life ; the soldiers were harsh and cruel to the Indians, 
while the red men grew to hate the bold Europeans who 
claimed to be masters of everything on land and sea. 
In 1693, the priests, at the command of the Spanish gov- 
ernment, abandoned the missions ; in the hours of night 
they buried their bells and other property they could 
not take with them, and sadly returned to Mexico. For 
some twenty years after this neither Spain nor France 
took steps toward colonizing Texas. 

The Crozat (cro-zii') Grant. — In 17 12 the King of 
France gave the sole right of Louisiana ^^ trade to An- 



12 HIDALGO AND THE FRENCH [1711 

toine Crozat, one of the keenest business men of the i 
day. Crozat saw a fortune was to be made by opening ' 
trade with Mexico through Texas and began to make 
his plans to that purpose. ^ 

Attempts to Open Trade. — Governor Cadillac (ka-de- \ 
yack') of Louisiana wished to help Crozat. As France 
and Spain happened to be on friendly terms just at this 
time/^ the Governor sent a ship to Vera Cruz (1713) 
to ask if trade might not be opened between Louisiana 
and Mexico. The Viceroy refused, saying Spain was un- 
willing to permit any country to trade with her colonies. 
One of the most earnest workers among the East Texas 
missions had been Fray Francisco Hidalgo (e-dal'-go). 
For years he had been trying to interest the Spanish au- 
thorities in rebuilding the abandoned missions and in 
founding new ones, but he had utterly failed. In 171 1 
he wrote Governor Cadillac asking his aid and was de- 
lighted to receive an encouraging response. We do not 
know all the details of this correspondence, but from 
what happened, it seems safe to believe that Hidalgo 
promised to aid tl\e French in building up a trade in 
Texas, if they would help him to establish missions 
among the Tejas and other Indians. The Governor con- 
sented to this compact, though it is difficult to under- 
stand his failure to see the danger to France in such an 
arrangement ; ez'cry Spanish mission in Texas zvas a blow 
to the French claim npon that province. 

Saint-Denis. — In 17 13 the Governor called upon 
Saint-Denis (da-nee'), a bold, dashing, young trader and 
explorer, to lead an expedition into Texas. With a large 
stock of goods from Crozat and with a small group of 
men, Saint-Denis started from Mobile. It was perhaps 
1714 before he reached Texas, where he tarried six 
months among the Asinais-*^ (ass-i-nay') Indians trad- 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 13 

ing. His excuse for being in disputed territory was that 
he was seeking for Hidalgo's mission that he might buy 
horses and cattle for the French colony in Louisiana. 
The Indians, who loved Hidalgo, begged Saint-Denis to 
bring their priest back to them. Delighted to have this 
additional excuse, the Frenchman, taking as guides the In- 
dian governor and a group of braves, started on the long 
march across Texas to Hidalgo's mission at the Presidio 
of the Rio Grande, thirty-five miles below the present 
site of Eagle Pass. Captain Ramon [Ra-mon] held them 
here until he could obtain orders from the Viceroy.-^ 

Spanish Aroused to HoldTexas. — Finally a guard was 
sent to escort Saint-Denis to the City of Mexico ; here 
he was asked to write out the object of his expedition. 
While he hardly told the whole truth, yet his story was 
enough to arouse the Spaniards ; in spite of stringent 
laws against foreigners, here was a French adventurer, 
who had led a body of men through Texas and six miles 
into Mexico with little or no opposition. This must not 
happen again. The French must be kept out; to do this, 
the Spaniards must build missions and establish per- 
manent settlements in East Texas. 

Spanish Expedition. — With Captain Diego Ramon 
in command an expedition (in 1716) started northward 
to carry out these plans. Mission San Francisco was re- 
established and five other missions were founded. ^^ 
Strange to say Saint-Denis went with this Spanish ex- 
pedition as a salaried ofiicer, though he was still secretly 
corresponding with the French Governor. His course 
is not clear ;-^ we fear that he sacrificed patriotism to 
love of gain. The action of Crozat, Cadillac, and Saint- 
Denis resulted in causing Spain to make permanent set- 
tlements in Texas, which meant the loss of Texas to 
rranee.^"^ 



14 FOUNDING OF SAN ANTONIO [1718 

Old San Antonio Road. — The most traveled road from 
Mexico to Texas stretched from a fort on the Rio Grande, 
near the present town of Eagle Pass to Nacogdoches. 
(See Map.) This was later called the Old San Antonio 
Road. De Leon's expedition probably used part of this 
route. Finding that he was losing money, Crozat gave 
up his charter in 1717. 

Founding of San Antonio. — In 1718 Martin de Alar- 
con, Governor of Coahuila (ko-a-wee'-la) and Mexico, 
founded the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar (ba-har') ; 
this marks the beginning of our historic city of San 
Antonio. The Presidio was made the capital of the 
province. 

East Texas Missions Abandoned. — Matters in Eu- 
rope so changed, that there was no longer peace between 
France and Spain. In 17 19 the priests and soldiers in 
the East Texas missions, fearing attacks from their 
French neighbors, fled to the Presidio of San Antonio 
de Bexar. 

A Noble Marquis. — Marquis de Aguayo (a-gua'-yo), 
a patriot and a soldier, grieved at the abandonment of 
the missions, offered his sword and his purse to win 
them back : he wanted to make active war upon the 
French. Just at this point, peace was declared in Eu- 
rope and the Marquis, now Governor of Coahuila (ko-a- 
wee'-la) and Texas, was ordered to recover the province 
of Texas, but to make no attack on French territory in 
Louisiana. He found his task made easy by the very 
ones he thought would oppose him. Saint-Denis 
came to the Neches river to bid him welcome ; the In- 
dians declared their pleasure at his coming. The missions 
were reopened. Settlements were made stronger and a 
fort was built near Natchitoches."^ All this settled 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 15 

more firmly the fact that Texas was to be a Spanish and 
not a French province. 

Colonists. — In 1728 and 1729 attempts were made to 
send over good families of pure Spanish blood from the 
Canary Islands and settle them in Texas. After many 
delays about fifteen families, all their expenses for one 
year being paid by Spain, came and settled the villa of 
San Fernando, near the Presidio of San Antonio de 
Bexar. The experiment was so expensive that the gov- 
ernment did not repeat it and the colony amounted to 
little. 

Missions Moved Westward. — Spain decreased the 
number of her soldiers in Texas. Fearing the Indians 
the priests obtained permission to move three of the East 
Texas Missions. In 1729 and 1730 they retraced their 
steps westward and finally located near San Antonio de 
Bexar. 

Louisiana Ceded to Spain. — France, having her 
hands full at home, had neither soldiers nor money for 
Louisiana. She feared that the province might fall into 
the possession of her most bitter enemy, England. 
Rather than see this happen, she ceded Louisiana to Spain 
in 1762. As this left no frontier to be guarded in Texas, 
Spain took away still more soldiers and ordered the re- 
moval of the remaining East Texas Missions, thus leav- 
ing Texas once more in possession of the Indians. 

Nacogdoches Founded. — Some of the settlers, how- 
ever, were so devoted to their homes that under the 
leadership of a remarkable character, Antonio Gil y 
Barbo (hul-y-bar-bo), they stole back and made a begin- 
ning of modern Nacogdoches, 1779, erecting the Old 
Stone Fort as a place of refuge. 



l6 THE INDIANS [1700 

THE NATIVE INDIANS OF TEXAS 

The author returns grateful acknowledgment to Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, 
Department of History, University of California, for this brief sketch of "The 
Native Indians of Texas." "The materials used in its preparation are 
almost entirely manuscript records in the * Archivo General de Mexico ' 
and in the Bexar Archives." 

The Name Texas. — When the French and the Span- 
iards came to explore the country that is now called 
Texas, it was the home of numerous tribes of Indians. 
Many of these, living for the most part in the eastern 
half of the State, called each other Texas (ta'-has), 
which meant '* allies." This name the Spaniards gave 
to the country, and it still clings to it. 

Numbers. — These tribes were small. It is a mistake 
to think that there were large numbers of Indians here or 
in any other part of the United States when the Euro- 
peans came. War, disease, and crude means of getting 
food prevented their becoming numerous, and, as a result, 
each tribe consisted of only a few hundred, or at most 
a few thousand, people. Had all the Indians that lived 
in Texas when the white men came been brought to- 
gether, they probably would not have formed two cities 
as large as San Antonio now is. But if they were few 
then, they are far less numerous now, for all of their 
descendants living on the reservations to-day would 
barely form a good-sized village. 

Tribes Divided Into Three Groups. — The numerous 
tribes may be put into three main groups, the Timber 
Tribes, the Plains Tribes, and the Coast Tribes. 

I. Timber Tribes. — The most advanced of these 
groups were the Timber Tribes of eastern Texas. They 
lived year after year in the same place, and had strong 
houses, which, early travelers tell us, were sometimes 
sixty feet in diameter, forty feet high, and contained 
several families each. The houses were made of small 



ERA I] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



17 



trees set in the ground in a circle, with their tops bent 
together, and covered from top to bottom with a thatch 
of grass. 

When a house was to be built the whole village was 
notified, and on the appointed day the men brought the 
necessary trees, put them in holes, and fastened them to- 
gether, while the women brought the grass and put it 
in place. Inside, the houses had high beds of reeds or 
skins placed on stake and pole platforms. In the center 



■?ii 



j4^-t' 






'^m:^mm 




Indian Grass Lodge 

of each was a fire used by all the families, while around 
the sides were earthen pots used for cooking, and bark 
or cane baskets for holding the food supply. On the 
tops sometimes could be seen grass cupolas, or trim- 
mings, made into strange figures, connected in some 
way, perhaps, with the Indian religion. 

Food. — For food these Timber Tribes raised various 
crops. They planted maize, or corn, one early and one 
later kind ; beans of several varieties, watermelons, 
muskmelons, calabashes, and sunflowers ; the seed of the 
last-named they ground into flour and made into bread 
and other fare. Beside these crops, they also raised to- 



l8 THE INDIANS [1700 

bacco. Their agricultural tools were crude ; they had 
no iron axes or plows to clear and till the soil, but 
killed the trees by fire and scratched the surface of the 
ground with hoes made of stone or wood, or of the 
bones of animals. They also hunted wild animals in 
the woods and on the prairies, and gathered nuts, acorns, 
wild fruits, and certain kinds of edible roots. 

Buffalo Hunting. — To hunt the bufifalo they went in 
the fall of the year in bands west of the middle Brazos 
and upper Sabine rivers, for east of this line the bufifaloes 
were few. From these hunting expeditions they carried 
home large quantities of skins for clothing and of dried 
meat for use during the winter when other food was 
scarce. Most of the tribes had native dogs, while be- 
fore the white men came to settle they had obtained 
horses from the Spaniards of Mexico. 

Dress and Adornment. — In warm weather the Indians 
wore little clothing, but for winter they made garments 
of skins and reeds. They were fond of ornaments, which 
they made sometimes of shells and sometimes of the teeth 
of animals. Both men and women tattooed and painted 
their faces and bodies with curious figures, and on spe- 
cial occasions the men wore gorgeous head-dresses of 
feathers. 

Religion. — These Indians, and the others as well, 
were highly religious in their way, though their notions 
about God were strange. One of their beliefs was that 
their chief spirit, whom they called Caddi Ayo (ka'-dee 
a'-yo), meaning ** chief above," was born in an acorn 
cup. When a man died they buried with him his bows 
and arrows and other possessions, thinking that he would 
need them after death. For several days they kept food 
on his grave, that he might not be hungry and weak 
while going to the " Other House." The numerous 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS I9 

mounds which these people made and left in various parts 
of eastern Texas were probably in some way connected 
with their worship. 

Divisions; — The Hasinai or Texas. — Of these Tim- 
ber Tribes there were two main divisions, the most im- 
portant being the Hasinai (ha-see'-nl). These are the 
Indians whom the Spaniards most commonly called 
" Texas," although, as we have seen, the Indians them- 
selves called many tribes by this name. The Hasinai 
group, who may also be called the Southern Caddo, 
comprised a dozen or more small tribes living in the 
valleys of the Angelina and Neches rivers.^s Each 
tribe had a civil chief ; there were also war chiefs. 

[Note to teachers. It is suggested that pupils be asked to learn 
the names of only the leading Indian tribes.] 

Temple and High Priest. — The head tribe of the 
group were the Hainai, living west of Nacogdoches on 
both sides of the Angelina River. Among them was lo- 
cated the main temple, used by all these tribes, and kept 
by the great Chenesi, a high priest, or medicine man, 
who cared for the sacred flame from which the Indians 
lighted their household fires. 

The Caddo. — Away to the northeast, on the Red 
River, west of where Texarkana now is, lived several 
other tribes which we call Caddo. The Caddo lived like 
the Hasinai, spoke nearly or quite the same language, 
and like them had caddis and a great Chenesi. 

Other Settled Tribes. — East of the Hasinai were the 
Ais and Adaes, and to the southeast were the Bidai. 
These tribes, Hke the Caddo and Hasinai, were settled 
timber dwellers. 

Westward, on the Upper Brazos and Red rivers, in 
the midst of roving Indians of the plains, lived several 



20 THE INDIANS [1700 

tribes whose common name is Wichita. These people 
seem to have migrated from the north soon after the 
Spaniards came. They were a settled people who prac- 
ticed agriculture, and had customs much like the Timber 
Tribes, although they could not properly be called such. 
One of their divisions, the Waco, long had their village 
where the city of that name now stands. 

II. The Plains Tribes.— 

The Buffalo. — West of the timber dwellers, on the 
great prairies and plains of Texas, roved wandering 
tribes with no fixed habitations, who, nevertheless, usu- 
ally regarded some particular part of the country as their 
own. To these Indians the buffalo was all important. 
Besides furnishing the staple food, it provided a variety 
of other important commodities. The brains and liver 
were used for softening leather, the horns and skull for 
ladles and vessels, the shoulder blades for hoes or picks, 
the tendons for bow-strings, the tail-hair to make ropes 
and belts, the hide to provide bridle and saddle for the 
horses, and to furnish shields, tents, traveling cases, 
shirts, moccasin soles, beds, and robes for the Indians — 
a surprising array of gifts from one clumsy beast. It 
is not strange therefore, that, with the changing seasons, 
these Indians followed the buffalo great distances. In 
the summer when the buffalo went north to a cooler 
climate, the Indians followed away to the plains of Kan- 
sas or the plateaus of Colorado. In the winter, when the 
buffalo returned, the same Indians might be seen fol- 
lowing southward as far as across the Rio Grande into 
Mexico. But even some of these wandering people 
planted a little corn for food, stopping for a season at a 
convenient place to raise it, or leaving the women to 
care for it while the men hunted or took the war path. 

Various Trilbes.-^ When the Spaniards first came to 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 21 

Texas the most important of these Plains Tribes were 
the Lipan and Mescalero, of Apache stock, and commonly 
called Apache. They occupied most of the country west 
of Kerrville and north as far as the upper Brazos and 
Colorado Rivers. North of them, but already pushing 
south into Texas, were the Comanche. East of these, be- 
tween the middle Colorado and the upper Sabine, roamed 
the Tonkawa and various related tribes. Soon the 
Comanche made terrible warfare on the Lipan, driving 
them south and east, and these, in turn, forced the Tonk- 
awan tribes southeastward. Before the English arrived, 
the Kiowa had begun to roam in Northern Texas. 

III. The Coast Tribes. — The numerous tribes living 
along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico moved about 
more than the Timber Tribes, but less than the tribes of 
the plains. During the hunting season, and in the cold 
winter months, those who lived on the islands migrated 
in canoes, made of logs, to the mainland. They all lived 
in very poor, small dwellings made of poles covered or 
partly covered with skins or reeds. They hunted small 
game near by, and sometimes went to the great plains to 
hunt buffalo, while the western tribes of the group went 
each year to the interior to eat and gather cactus fruit 
and mesquite beans. ^^ Some of these coast tribes were 
regarded as cannibals. 

'Back of the Coast Tribes, between them and the 
Apache country, were scores of little Pakawan tribes, 
whose life was partly like that of the coast tribes, and 
partly like that of the wandering Indians of the plains. 

Indian Wars and Migrations. — There was much 
fighting among these Indians.^^ This caused various na- 
tive Texas tribes to change their places of living ; it also 
caused several tribes whose homes had not been in Texas 
to push in and take the places of natives.^^ 



22 THE MISSIONS [1700. 

MISSIONS 



Whenever Spain entered a new country two purposes 
were always kept in view — to make the nations subject 
to her king and to win them as converts to the CathoHc 
church. This was plainly shown in the plan of establish- 
ing missions. First, a choice location was, if possible, 
selected for the mission itself; then near by or in the 
center of a group of missions was placed a fort or 
presidio,-*^'^ in order that the soldiers might protect the 
priests, hold the country for the king, and overawe the 
Indians.^i When the savages had been trained to work 
and had learned to farm, the tribes were given small 
tracts of land. 

Moral Condition of Indians. — To appreciate the task 
undertaken by the Spanish priests, some idea must be had 
of the moral condition of the Indians. As has been 
shown, they had no idea of the God we worship, but they 
had some vague conception of a deity or deities and they 
filled the whole universe with spirits, good and bad ; 
they seemed to feel that the bad spirits were more power- 
ful, and performed all kinds of ceremonies to keep these 
demons in a good humor. Their ideas of right and 
wrong differed widely from ours. Marriage was not a 
sacred union, so there was no fixed, permanent home 
life; women were regarded as inferior beings; judged by 
our standards the men were lazy and dishonest ; they were 
so improvident that they seldom laid up sufficient food 
for the winter or for a year of famine, consequently in 
the midst of acres of the richest land they were often 
in a half starved condition ; to love their enemies was un- 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 23 

heard of, but to scalp a foe was the duty of every brave. 
To change such people into industrious, Christian sub- 
jects of his Majesty the King of Spain was indeed a 
great undertaking. 

Beginning of Missions. — When the Spaniards came 
to found the missions, they did not at first erect stone 
buildings. The priests, assisted by the soldiers, put up 
simple structures of wood, with roofs of twigs, leaves, 
and grass. Led by curiosity, and the gentle demeanor 
of the holy fathers, the Indians came in crowds to watch 
the strange work. Soon they offered their assistance. 
A bright picture, a bit of red cloth, or a string of beads, 
was to them sufficient reward for a day's labor. The 
lighted candles, the incense, the altar with its handsome 
fixtures — all the ritual of the Church — charmed and 
thrilled these simple children of the forest. As the 
priests taught them day by day, some of them began to 
comprehend what it all meant, and a few became true 
Christians. These were anxious to stay near their sa- 
cred teachers, whom they learned to love, and were de- 
lighted to obey. Many, however, understood only 
enough of what the priests said to be frightened at what 
would happen to them in the next world. Moved by 
fear, they too remained near the fathers, having a vague 
idea that this might save them. Others liked the good 
food, the clothing and gifts and came solely for the 
" loaves and fishes." In this way many Indians fell com- 
pletely under the control of the priests, and work was 
begun on the permanent missions. 

Plan of Missions. — In East Texas stone was hard to 
find, hence most of these structures were wooden and 
have entirely disappeared. ^2 j^ Southern Texas, how- 
ever, the fathers had suitable material to work out their 
ideal. The general plan of Spanish missions was to 



24 THE MISSIONS [1700 

group all necessary buildings about a square or plaza: 
at one corner, facing the outside square, was the church, 
a massive stone structure, which might be used as a fort- 
ress in times of danger. The convent came next, con- 
taining rooms for the priests and teachers, dining rooms, 
kitchens and offices. There were large granaries filled 
with food. Houses for the Indians, made also of stone, 
had doors and windows and were furnished with big 
beds, chests, pots, kettles, boilers, flat earthen pans and 
stones for grinding corn. Double porticoes ran all about 
these buildings and through the porticoes flowed a ditch 
of pure water for irrigation ; the fathers protected this 
stream with much care, willows and fruit trees being 
planted near its banks. 

About all these there was a wall for protection, with a 
strong gate and tower on which were mounted cannon. 
Near by were the farm and the ranch, where the priests 
raised their crops and cared for their horses and cattle.^^ 

Life in the Missions. — Early each morning all In- 
dians in the mission were assembled for prayers; next 
they heard mass and a lecture. Each one then went to 
his task, some toiling in the field, others working on the 
massive stone buildings, which were to take the place of 
the wooden structures. In the evening they had re- 
ligious services. On going to their huts to sleep, they 
were locked in to prevent their escape. In return for 
this labor they were well fed and clothed, cared for in 
sickness and old age, besides being carefully instructed 
in religious doctrines. As the savages had lived as free 
as the birds of the air, such a Hfe of confinement told 
severely on them. When one tried to escape — and many 
did so — soldiers were sent out to capture him. As the 
supply of converts came in too slowly for the work the 
priests wished to accomplish, those who were trusted 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



25 




26 



SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS 



[1718 



were sent out to bring in others of the tribe. Force had 
to be used to make many of the savages do their daily 
task, but the priests were not cruel, treating them rather 
as lazy, disobedient children. In this way sufficient force 
was obtained to irrigate the land for miles about the 
mission, to till the soil until the country smiled like a 
garden, and to erect the great buildings which are still 
the pride of every Texan's heart. ^^ 

San Antonio Group of Missions. — The best preserved 
missions are the five grouped about San Antonio. 

The Alamo. — In the heart of this " City of Missions " 
rises the scarred visage of the Alamo, a name hallowed 
by its baptism of blood. The Alamo is supposed to have 

been the chapel 
of mission San 
Antonio de Va- 
lero; this mission, 
then under the 
name of San 
Francisco Solano, 
was originally 
founded on the 
Rio Grande in 
1700, but was 
moved ^^ in 1718 
near the Presidio 
of San Antonio 
de Bexar. The first stone of the present Alamo ^^ was 
said to have been laid in 1744- 

San Jose Mission. — On the right bank of the San 
Antonio River, about four miles below San Antonio, 
stands the most beautiful of all the missions — San Jose 
(san ho-se) de Aguayo. This mission was founded 
(1720) by the famous Father Margil, who, dying before 




Mission Concepcion de Acuna 
(First Mission) 



ERA 1] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



27 




2a 



MISSION CONCEPCION 



[1731 



its completion, was buried amid the tears and sobs of the 
people, in the City of Mexico. The carvings and statu- 
ary which ornament the front of San Jose are the work 
of a Spanish artist, Huicar (wee-kar), who devoted many 
of the best years of his life to this work. The south 
window of the baptistery is considered by good judges 
the '' finest gem of architectural ornamentation existing 




Mission San Juan de Capistrano (Third ]\Iission). 



in America to-day ; its curves and proportions are a con- 
tinual delight to the eye."^^ 

Mission Concepcion. — In 1731 Concepcion,^^ the best 
preserved of the missions, was located two miles below 
San Antonio. Its twin towers, its picturesque dome, its 
front gateway so curiously decorated, its quaint legends, 
all make this mission one of peculiar interest. The front 
of the building was formerly frescoed in brilliant red 
and blue designs, making a dazzling effect ; but time and 



ERA I] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



29 



the desecrating hands of ruthless sight-seers have left 
few of these decorations. 

Espada and Capistrano Missions. — Nine miles from 
San Antonio on the west bank of the river is mission 
San Francisco de la Espada (a-spa'-da), so called from 
Saint Francis, the 
founder of the 
Franciscan 
priests, and from 
the sword shape 
of its chapel tow- 
er. This mission 
is the oldest in the 
history of the 
Texas missions. 
It started as San 
Francisco de los 
Tejas in 1690 but 
was abandoned in 
1693; in 1716 it 
was revived but 
was called San 
Francisco de los 
Neches. In 1731 
it was established 
in its present location and given its present name. 

The Mission of San Juan (wan) Capistrano (ka-pe- 
stra'no), six miles from San Antonio, was also one of 
the East Texas missions removed. The outline of the 
original plan followed in building all missions (as de- 
scribed in a previous topic) is clearly to be seen in the 
ruins of San Juan. 

San Saba Mission. — In Menard County, on the San 
Saba River, in 1757, was founded the San Saba Mission 




Mission San Francisco de la Espada 
(Fourth Mission) 



30 



THE LAST MISSION 



[1 791 



for the especial benefit of the Apache Indians. The 
Comanches, who were bitter enemies of the Apaches, 
soon came with a force of alHes numbering about two 
thousand men and butchered all th^e inhabitants of the 
mission except two or three, who managed to escape. 

The Last Mission. — In 1791 the mission of our Lady 
of Refuge was founded at Refugio. This was the last 
Spanish mission established in Texas. In 1794 all Texas 
missions were secularized, that is they were taken from 
the care of the priests who belonged to religious orders 
and given to the secular priests, those who had charge 
of regular parish churches. This was why the good 
Franciscan fathers, worn and discouraged, gave up their 
work in Texas and returned some to Mexico, others to 
Spain. 

Condition of Texas. — At the close of this era, in spite 

of all the labor 
and money ex- 
pended, there 
were in Texas not 
more than twen- 
ty-six hundred 
Europeans. The 
p r i e s ts claimed 
that ten thousand 
Indians had been 
converted since 
1690, yet in 1800 
there were not 
more than four 
hundred and sixty at the missions or claiming to be 
under the influence of the fathers. While some 
twenty-five missions and presidios had been es- 
tablished, yet there were only three places where real 




La Bahia, near Goliad 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 31 

Spanish colonial life existed; San Antonio, La Bahia [La 
Ba he' a] or Goliad (1749) and Nacogdoches. Several 
causes led to this condition : the Indians were continually 
troublesome; there was friction between the French and 
the Spaniards ; but, above all, Spai}i did not have the true 
colonicing poiver. She was tyrannical ; she tried to regu- 
late by law even the private life of her people. The col- 
onists had many fine opportunities for trade, but Spain 
said, '*No, you shall buy from, and sell to, none but me." 
It is not then to be wondered at that more than a hundred 
years after settlement, this goodly land, Texas, was 
scarcely more than a wilderness. 

SUMMARY OF ERA I 

The French La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi 
in 1682 and claimed all lands drained by the river for his 
king. In 1684 he was sent by Louis XIV. to found a colony 
at the mouth of the Mississippi, but by mistake landed at 
Matagorda Bay, Texas, 1685, and built Fort Saint Louis on 
the Lavaca River. While searching for the " fatal river " La 
Salle was killed (1687) by some of his own men. The colony 
was destroyed by discord and the Indians. French claims 
to Texas rested on La Salle's voyage and colony. 

Spain claimed Texas on account of Columbus's discovery 
of America, Cortes's conquest of Mexico, and the explorations 
of Cabeza de Vaca and others. When news came of La Salle's 
expedition, Captain De Leon was sent to destroy the French 
and later to establish missions and presidios in East Texas; 
these were abandoned in 1693 and nothing was done for 
twenty years. 

King Louis granted (1712) all rights of Louisiana trade to 
Crozat. In spite of Spain's strict laws against trading with 
other nations, Crozat and his friends persuaded certain Spanish 
priests to allow them to trade in Texas, provided the French 
aided the holy fathers in establishing missions. The French 
Saint Denis led a trading expedition across Texas to the Rio 
Grande ; this aroused Spain and caused her in 1716 to found 



32 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

six missions in East Texas; from this time Texas was never 
without Spanish settlement. 

In 1728 and 1729 Spain sent colonists from Canary Islands 
to settle in Texas ; the experiment was too expensive to repeat. 

France ceded Louisiana to Spain in 1762; this ended the 
border quarrels. 

The Indians of Texas, few in numbers, may be divided 
into the Timber Tribes, the Plains Tribes, and the Coast 
Tribes. The Timber Tribes of East Texas were the most ad- 
vanced ; they lived in the same places year after year, had 
strong houses, carried on a crude sort of agriculture, went 
in the fall to hunt buffalo and were highly religious. The 
Timber Tribes were divided into the Hasinai or Texas and 
the Caddos. The Plains Tribes lived on the plains and prairies 
west of the Timber Tribes ; they were a roving people with 
no fixed habitation. The buffalo was all important to them. 
The Coast Tribes eked out a miserable existence on the shores 
of the Gulf of Mexico; they had little or no agriculture and 
lived on fish, eggs of sea-fowls, wild fruits, nuts and roots. 
Some of them were considered cannibals. 

The purpose of Spain in entering a country was to convert 
the nations to Christianity and to hold territory for the King, 
hence missions and presidios were grouped together. The 
moral conditions of the Indians made the task of the priests 
most difficult. Priests began with simple arbors and wooden 
buildings, worked patiently and persistently until they had 
trained the savages to labor so they could erect stone missions. 

The most interesting group is in and about San Antonio; 
the Alamo, San Jose, Concepcion, Capistrano and Espada. 

San Saba mission was destroyed by the Comanches and their 
allies. In 1791 a mission at Refugio marked the last mis- 
sion ; in 1794 missions were secularized and the Franciscan 
fathers returned to Mexico and to Spain. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY WORK 

[Note to the teacher. — The points mentioned below are 
merely suggestive. The discretion of each instructor will tell 
him what to omit, and what to adopt. Nothing is given 
that has not been successfully tested in the schoolroom. En- 
pourage the pupil to make use of the public library.] 



ERA I] EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 33 

1. Write a biography of La Salle (Reference-books — En- 
cyclopedias, Parkman's " Life of La Salle," " The Story of 
Tonti," a romance by Mary Hartwell Catherwood). 

2. Describe the ships used in La Salle's time, showing how 
they differ from those of the present day. 

3. Write a letter to De Tonty describing the death and burial 
of La Salle, you having been an eye-witness of the murder. 

4. Conversation topic, each pupil to talk one minute : Who 
had the better claim to Texas, France or Spain? (The author 
cannot too heartily recommend conversational topics, w^hich 
the entire class is required to discuss; during her fourteen 
years' experience as a teacher no other language exercise has 
brought forth such encouraging results). 

5. The missions as they are now. (In many parts of the 
State it will be possible for teacher and pupils to visit 
one or more of the ruined missions. Such a visit under 
proper guidance would be of the greatest profit and interest 
to the history class). 

6. Paper or talk from the teacher on the condition of France 
in 1762, showing clearly why she was not able to hold her 
colonies in America. 

7. Let the class elect one of their number, who, assuming 
that he is a historical personage, mentioned in Era L, shall 
relate the story of his life, concealing his name ; class will 
then decide who he is. 

8. Historical tableau : Let pupils represent some scene de- 
scribed in Chapter L ; as " Death of La Salle." Let the class 
name and describe the scene thus pictured. 

9. Readings: Selections from Chapter XXIL Parkman's "La 
Salle." 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

"With the Makers of Texas," by Bolton and Barker, pages 
1-66. For older students : Dr. George P. Garrison's " Texas," 
pages 1-94. 



34 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 



France and 
Texas. 



a. Early life and training. 

b. Comes to Canada. 

c. Reaches mouth of Mississippi (1682). 

d. Claims lands for France. 

e. Returns to France and appears before 
the King. 

f. Last voyage to America (1685). 

g. Lands in Texas (1685). 

h. Troubles: Captain Beaujeu. 

i. Fort St. Louis: first European settlement 

in Texas, 
j. Search for " fatal river." 
k. Murder (1687). 
1. Fate of colony. 
m. Foundation of French claim. 



IL 

Spain and 
Texas 



1. Spanish claim based on 

2. Search for La Salle's col- 
ony. 

3. First mission founded 
(1690). 

4. French attempts to open 
trade. 

5. Other missions. 

6. Beginnings of San An- 
tonio (1718). Goliad 
(1749). Nacogdoches 
(1779). 

7. East Texas missions aban- 
doned. 

8. Marquis de Aguayo. 

9. Colonists from Canary 
Islands. 

ID. Louisiana ceded to 
Spain (1762). 



I b. 

i " 
Id. 



Columbus. 
Cortes. 

Cabeza de Vaca 
(1528-1534) 
Other explorers. 



Crozat's grant. 
Saint Denis. 
Governor Cadillac. 



in. 

Texas 
Indians. 



1. Timber Tribes. 

2. Plains Tribes. 

3. Coast Tribes. 



Location. 

Homes. 

Food. 

Dress. 

Occupation. 



f. Religion. 



ERA I] 



EXPLORERS AND SETTLERS 



35 



IV. 

The missions. 



Condition of 
Texas. 



1. Two objects of Spaniards 
in possessing new country. 

2. Moral condition of In- 



dians. 

Temporary missions. 

Permanent missions. 



5. San Antonio group. 



San Saba mission. 
Refugio, last mission, 
Missions secularized. 
Decline. 





r a. Plan of. 




^ b. Life in. 




' a. Alamo. 




b. San Jose. 




c. Concepcion 




d. Espada. 




e. Capistrano. 


I79I. 




1794. 





ERA II 

EEA OF FILIBUSTERS^ 

(1800-1819) 

[For footnotes see page 302.] 

To understand the events that during this era hap- 
pened in Texas, some knowledge of the state of affairs 
in Mexico and the United States is necessary. 

Affairs in Spain. — At this time Spain was in a dis- 
tressing condition. Wars from without and plots from 
within together with fear of Napoleon gave her little 
time to attend to her possessions in the New World. 

Hidalgo's Revolution. — The Mexicans, on their part, 
were weary of Spanish rule and desired independence. 
They could not have asked a more favorable time. As is 
ever the case, many martyrs were offered on Liberty's 
altar before definite results were reached. The first 
general revolution 2 (1810), which was led by the gentle 
scholar and priest, Hidalgo (e-dal'go), was opposed 
by the great mass of the priesthood. The revolution 
failed; the brave Hidalgo was executed. Jose Maria 
Morelos (mo-ra'los), a priest and a patriot, next aroused 
the people, but he too was captured and put to death. 
Mexico becomes Independent. — In the course of 
time, Spain passed certain laws, making sweeping changes 
in many matters that concerned the priests. This caused 
the holy fathers to go over to the side of the revolu- 
tionists. " li Mexico becomes an independent country," 

36 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 37 

they reasoned, " we shall be able to make such laws as 
we wish for our control." A second revolution oc- 
curred. After a few battles, the Mexican patriots were 
victorious. An empire was formed and General Itur- 
bide (e-toor-be'da) was made emperor. 

The Republic of Mexico. — The Mexicans longed for 
still more freedom. But Iturbide granted nothing, his 
desire being to make himself absolute ruler. The em- 
pire was overthrown, and in 1824 a republic was estab- 
Hshed. 

The United States. — While the outlook in Mexico 
was dark and overshadowed by war clouds, in the land 
where our "bonny blue flag" waved, there were peace 
and prosperity. The war of 1812 was the only event 
that disturbed the nation. After Louisiana became the 
property of Spain, a dispute arose as to the rights of 
Americans to navigate the Mississippi. The whole 
nation was aroused over the plans of Aaron Burr,^ 
formerly Vice President of the United States; it was 
thought that he would lead an expedition into Texas, 
press on perhaps to Mexico, conquer the country and es- 
tablish a new government. These causes brought Texas 
prominently before the eyes of America and made it a 
most attractive place to daring adventurers. Settlers 
from every direction were pushing toward the frontier, 
and already some — with longing eyes — were looking 
toward the broad prairies of Texas. 

Nolan's Expedition. — In 1797, Philip Nolan ^ ob- 
tained permission from the Governor of Louisiana to 
enter Texas, for the purpose of getting wild horses for 
a Louisiana regiment. While on the trip, Nolan was 
keen enough to make a good map ^ of the country, and 
to open trade with the Indians. Meeting with success, 
he decided (October, iScxd) to repeat the experiment. 



38 



NOLAN'S EXPEDITION 



[1801 



By this time, the Spaniards began to fear that the 
Americans were seeing too much of Texas, and resolved 
to prevent Nolan's expedition.^ He, with about twenty 
companions, the most of whom were Americans, man- 
aged — in spite of Spanish opposition — to enter Texas, 
to journey as far into the interior as Waco, and to catch 
some three hundred mustangs. Early one morning 
(March 21, 1801) the little company awoke to find 
themselves surrounded by one hundred Spaniards under 




Map for Era II 



the command of Lieut. Musquiz (mus-kee'ce). Nolan was 
soon killed."^ His place was taken by Peter Ellis Bean.^ 
After a desperate struggle, their ammunition being ex- 
hausted, Bean and his men surrendered. 

Fate of Nolan's Men. — They were long held as pris- 
oners in Mexico. In 1807 the Spanish King ordered that 
every fifth man should be hanged and the rest sentenced to 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 39 

ten years' labor. As the hardships inflicted upon 
them had caused the death of all but nine, the judge 
decided that only one man must die. The Spanish of- 
ficer in charge wrote : " Having caused the nine pris- 
oners to assemble in a room in order to draw lots, so 
that one of them might be executed, after they knelt 
I read the decree of his Majesty the King. The pris- 
oners agreed to throw dice, and that the oldest of them 
should throw first, and that the one who threw the 
smallest number should be hanged. A drum, a crystal 
tumbler, and two dice were brought, and I ordered the 
prisoners to kneel before the drum and be blindfolded." 
Ephraim Blackburn threw first, and to him fell the fatal 
number; two days afterward (November ii, 1807) he 
was hanged.^ 

Louisiana Purchased by the United States. — In 1800 
Spain secretly returned Louisiana to France. Napoleon, 
being in great need of money, sold Louisiana, in 1803, 
to the United States.^^ Spain objected to this ; and when 
the Americans claimed all land east of the Rio Grande 
as a part of Louisiana, she grew indignant. 

Neutral Ground. — It soon seemed that war was cer- 
tain, for Spain not only claimed Texas, but even wanted 
to cross the Sabine and take a part of Louisiana. At 
last the matter was peacefully arranged (October, 1806) 
by making the land between the Sabine and the Arroyo 
Hondo 11 (ar-ro-yo'on'do) neutral till the boundary 
question should be settled.^^ /^g in this strip of ground 
no law ruled, it soon became the home of criminals and 
desperadoes, whose occupation was robbery. 

Lieutenant Augustus Magee. — For nearly twelve 
years after Philip Nolan's death, no other American ex- 
pedition came into Texas. Augustus Magee was a gifted 



40 MAGEE'S EXPEDITION [1812 

young lieutenant in the U. S. army, who had been sta- 
tioned at Natchitoches, Louisiana, to protect Americans 
crossing the Neutral Ground. 

Magee and Gutierres Meet. — At this time the Roy- 
alists (those who preferred belonging to Spain) of Mex- 
ico were in power, Hidalgo had been defeated and the 
Republicans were in exile. Many of them had taken 
refuge in the United States and in the Neutral Ground. 
Having met some of the most talented of these Re- 
publicans, Magee became infatuated with the idea of 
freeing Texas from Spanish rule. He and Gutierres 
(goo-te-er-es),^^ a noted Spanish exile, formed a plan 
to effect this purpose. They gained support from four 
classes — Mexicans who lived in Texas, f ree-booters of 
the Neutral Ground, Indians and adventurous spirits in 
the United States. 

Preparations. — Resigning his commission in the 
United States army (June, 1812), Magee went to New 
Orleans to obtain men and supplies. Nor were men 
hard to obtain, for then, as now, the youth of our land 
were ready to enter upon any hazardous undertaking. 
It is said each volunteer was promised forty dollars per 
month and a league of land. 

In the meantime Gutierres with a group of adventurers 
from the Neutral Ground pushed into Texas, took 
Nacogdoches from the Spaniards and passed on to Span- 
ish Bluff on the Trinity. Here Magee joined him. Their 
combined forces, called the " Republican army of the 
north," numbered about eight hundred; Gutierres was 
made commander-in-chief, and Magee second officer, 
though really Magee was the ruling spirit. Most of the 
officers were Americans, among whom were Major Kem- 
per, Captains Lockett, Perry, Ross and Gaines. 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 4I 

The Siege at Goliad. — The little army marched to- 
ward Goliad or La Bahia, where the Governor of Texas, 
Salcedo, (sal-sa'-do), had stationed about fifteen hun- 
dred Spanish troops. Hearing of the approach of the 
filibusters, Salcedo led his men out to meet them at the 
Guadalupe River. Magee, however, wisely chose an- 
other route, reached Goliad while Salcedo was still absent, 
captured the fort and took possession of several pieces 
of artillery, large supplies of provisions, and the mili- 
tary chest, which contained enough money to pay the 
troops. 

Gen. Salcedo, much enraged at the turn affairs had 
taken, besieged the fort for four months. The filibus- 
ters, with the food found in Goliad and with the cattle 1* 
their expert American scouts drove in at night, laughed 
at the Spanish threats of starving them into surrender. 
In February Magee died^^ from consumption and 
Kemper was elected colonel to succeed him. Soon after 
Salcedo attacked the fort fiercely, but was driven back 
with much loss; he then abandoned the siege and re- 
treated toward San Antonio (February or March, 

1813). 

Battle of Rosillo.^^ — After receiving reenforcements, 
Colonel Kemper (March, 181 3) decided to march on to 
San Antonio, where Salcedo was encamped. Near the 
town the Americans made an attack and drove the Span- 
iards from the field, though the enemy had several pieces 
of artillery, and possessed every advantage as to knowl-, 
edge of the surrounding country. A demand was sent 
to Salcedo, to surrender San Antonio. He asked until 
morning for consideration, but Yoakum says received 
the curt reply : " Either present yourself and staff in our 
camp at once or we shall storm the town." The fort was 



42 MAGEE'S EXPEDITION [1813 

given up. The victorious army entered the town, took 
possession of all treasures, rewarded all soldiers, ^^ and 
released all prisoners found in San Antonio. 

Spanish Officers Murdered. — The soldiers of the con- 
quered army were released, and the officers paroled. Since 
reaching San Antonio, Gutierres had assumed more au- 
thority than before. He announced to his force that he 
deemed it wise to send the Spanish officers to New Or- 
leans, to remain until the war closed. All agreed to this 
— the Americans never dreaming of the infamous plot 
that Gutierres was secretly cherishing. Salcedo and his 
officers started, under the charge of a party of Mexicans, 
commanded by Delgado, for the sea-coast. After going 
a short distance they were stopped and told to prepare 
for death. The Mexicans then tied all securely, and 
cut their throats. ^^ As the Americans considered their 
honor pledged for the safety of Salcedo and his com- 
panions, a number of the best men, including Kemper 
and Lockett, left the expedition in disgust. Gutierres 
was deprived of his command. 

Victory at the Alazan. — Other Americans came in 
to take the place of those who left, for the fame of Texas 
climate and Texas soil, together with the report of vic- 
tories gained by Magee's men, had drawn to San An- 
tonio many adventurous spirits. In June (1813) the 
filibusters under Perry's leadership gained a decided 
victory at the Alazan (a-la-san') creek over the Spanish 
General Elizondo (a-le-s6n-do), who had been sent to 
destroy them. 

Defeat at the Medina. — (August 18, 1813). The 
" Republican army of the North," flushed with victory, 
welcomed new reenforcements and selected Toledo ^^ to- 
la'-do) as commander. This step displeased the Mexi- 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 43 

can part , of the army because Toledo was a Gachupin 
[ga-chu-pin] (pure-blooded Spaniard) and they hated 
all Gachupins. Fortune, that had long smiled upon the 
Republicans, now turned her face. General Arredondo 
[ar-ra-don'do], a distinguished officer of the Royal army, 
hearing of Elizondo's defeat, immediately set to work 
(July, 1813) collecting forces with which to win back 
Texas to the support of the Spanish King. Elizondo was 
ordered to gather his scattered troops and join the com- 
mand of Arredondo. The combined forces marched to 
San Antonio, but halted six miles south of the Medina, 
•where they laid a trap for the unsuspecting enemy. 
Toledo being informed of the approach of Arredondo, 
advanced from San Antonio toward Laredo ; crossing 
the Medina he came upon the Royalist forces. 20 To- 
ledo led his men to the attack (August 18, 1813). At 
the first charge, the Spaniards, acting according to the 
orders of their general, pretended to be terror-stricken 
and fled; the Americans eagerly followed, whereupon 
the Spaniards turning, closed in their lines, forming an 
angle with the opening towards San Antonio; thus <. 
The Republicans were caught between the sides of the 
angle. Toledo, perceiving the snare into which he had 
been led, gave the order to retreat. One wing obeyed. 
But the other, shouting, " No ; we never retreat," rushed 
to their death. Some of the Mexican troops deserted. 
The Americans and Indians fought bravely; but after 
four hours, ensnared, separated, with ammunition ex- 
hausted, they were forced to flee. Then began a scene 
of terrible butchery, for the Spaniards spared none.^i 
Of the eight hundred and fifty Americans engaged in 
the battle, only ninety-three succeeded in escaping, among 
whom were Perry, Taylor and Bullard.22 



44 TOLEDO'S DEFEAT [1813 

Effect of the Battle. — The effect of this defeat upon 
the Repubhcan cause in Texas was most disastrous. 
The Spanish soldiers swept the whole country, vent- 
ing their wrath not alone upon the men but also upon 
the helpless women and children.^^ San Antonio, Na- 
cogdoches, and Trinidad suffered especially. Scores 
of the best citizens of Texas fled to Louisiana, for they 
now had nothing to expect in Texas but death, and 
that in its most cruel form.^^ Ruin and desolation were 
to be seen on all sides. 

The Republicans on Galveston Island. — While the 
outlook for the Republicans in Mexico and Texas was 
gloomy, yet there still remained some patriots who 
never gave up hope.^^ A group of these under the 
lead of Herrera^*^ (ar-ra'ra) took possession of Gal- 
veston Island 2^ (September, 1816) and organized a 
miniature Republic of Mexico. Their plan was to send 
out privateers into the Gulf of Mexico to ruin Spanish 
trade with all American countries. For a time things 
went well ; rich prizes were captured ; Spanish com- 
merce on the Gulf was destroyed ; the little Republic 
had money in abundance. But the leaders began to 
disagree among themselves ; the more reckless of the 
men seized ships belonging to other nations than Spain 
and also engaged in the slave trade. This aroused the 
United States government against them, so that in 
18 17 they thought best to burn their buildings and leave 
Galveston Island for Central America. 

Lafitte the Pirate. — Jean Lafitte [la-feef], a French- 
man by birth, was for a time a blacksmith in New 
Orleans. Of his early life many strange stories are 
told, but nothing is positively known until he is found 
agent for the smuggling vessels that, since the Em- 



ERA II] 



THE FILIBUSTERS 



45 



bargo Act passed by the United States (1807), were 
doing a fine business on the Louisiana coast.^^ He 
gathered about him a set of daring seamen, and estab- 
Hshed himself on the coast of Grand Terre (gran ter), 
also called Barataria (ba-ra-ta're-a), about sixty miles 
from the Mississippi Delta. Here he made a fortune 
by smuggling. Not being able to disperse the smug- 
glers, the Governor of Louisiana offered five hundred 
dollars for Lafitte's 
head. The French- 
man was not to be 
outdone, for he at 
once offered fif- 
teen thousand dol- 
lars for the Gover- 
nor's head ! An 
armed force was 
sent out against 
him, but Lafitte 
surrounded the 
men, and, after 
showing them that 
they were entirely 
at his mercy, gave 
them not only their 
freedom but rich 
gifts. His estab- 
lishment was at 
last so nearly de- 
stroyed by ships 

from the United States navy, that he and his men were 
forced to keep quiet. 

Lafitte refuses British Honors.— In 1814, British 
officers went to Barataria (ba-ra'ta're-a) to offer Lafitte 




Jean Lafitte 



46 LAFITTE [1814 

£30,000, the rank of post captain, and the command of 
a frigate, if he would assist them in the war they were 
then waging against the United States. While Lafitte's 
crimes were not few, he did not commit that unpar- 
donable sin — treachery to the country to which he had 
sworn allegiance. He requested several days to con- 
sider this offer. His request was granted. He at once 
sent the proposal of the English, together with a pa- 
triotic letter from himself, to Mr. Blanque, a State of- 
ficer of Louisiana.2^ He offered his services to the 
United States. His offer was accepted, and he was 
received once more into respectable society. In the 
battle of New Orleans he with some of his companions 
fought so bravely that the President of the United 
States granted a full pardon to all. At the close of 
the war, however, the longing for the old life of dar- 
ing and adventures returned. 

Lafitte on Galveston Island. — Lafitte had from 
Venezuela letters of marque (official papers granting 
him the right) to prey upon the commerce of Spain. 
About this time Herrera's party left Galveston Island, 
and Lafitte selected (April, 1817) the island as his 
headquarters. Soon a thousand men had rallied about 
him, and a thriving town sprung up called Campeachy. 
He claimed that the letters of marque gave him full 
power to pursue his course as a privateer, but in order 
to make himself doubly safe he organized a Mexican 
Republic, appointed all necessary officers and forced all 
new-comers to take the oath of allegiance to Mexico. 
In spite of all this he was looked upon by the world 
at large as a pirate, and was known far and near as 
the " Pirate of the Gulf." He lived in grand style,^^ 
entertained all visitors royally, and was so successful 
in his efforts against Spain that Spanish commerce suf- 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 47 

fered seriously. In personal appearance, Lafitte was 
handsome, of dignified bearing and of courteous man- 
ners. His men had strict orders not to interfere with 
American ships, Spain being the country against which, 
according to their commission, they claimed right to wage 
war. Some of the seamen, failing to obey his com- 
mands, the American government compelled Lafitte and 
his entire colony (1821) to leave Galveston forever.^^ 

Texas Exchanged. — In 1819, the United States 
agreed to give up all claims to Texas, if Spain would 
sell to her Florida. Spain complied, and Texas was 
abandoned by our government, the Neutral Ground be- 
:oming part of Louisiana; but many Americans denied 
the right of Congress to sell or to exchange any portion 
of American possessions, and sent to Washington strong 
protests against the action of Congress. 

Long's First Expedition. — The people of Natchez, 
Mississippi, were so displeased that they not only pro- 
tested against the action, but organized an expedition 
to invade Texas and establish a Republic. Dr. James 
Long was made leader of the expedition.^2 Long, ac- 
companied by his wife and child, set out (June, 1819) 
with less than eighty men for Nacogdoches : before he 
reached this point his force had increased to three hun- 
dred men, among whom was Gutierres. As soon as 
they arrived at Nacogdoches the invaders held a con- 
vention and solemnly declared Texas to be a free and 
independent republic. Long was chosen President, a 
full staff of officers were elected, and public lands were 
offered for sale on reasonable terms. In order to gain 
a firm foothold in the country. Long established four 
trading places along the Brazos and Trinity. 

Long Asks Aid from Lafitte. — In September, Long 
set out for Galveston Island to trv to obtain aid from La- 



48 LONG'S EXPEDITIONS [1819 

fitte;^^ he had just reached the Coushatta village when 
he learned that a Royalist army was marching to at- 
tack his colony. Sending back word to his wife to 
escape to Louisiana, and ordering his under officers to 
concentrate their forces, he hurried on to Galveston. 
Lafitte received him cordially, wished him success, but 
positively refused to aid him, saying no expedition 
against Mexico could succeed without a large, well dis- 
ciplined body of soldiers. Starting on his homeward 
journey. Long was met everywhere by bad tidings; at 
all points his men had been defeated, while his brother 
had been killed. He reached Nacogdoches, only to find 
it deserted, the inhabitants having fled at the news of 
the approach of the enemy. Long himself came near 
being captured. He was, however, rejoiced to find his 
wife and child safe. 

Long*s Second Expedition. — Not discouraged by the 
failure of his first expedition, Long hurried to New Or- 
leans, where he obtained new forces and new supplies. 
Don Fehx Trespalacios (tres-pa-la'-se-os), a famous 
Mexican exile, also joined the expedition. The patriots, 
as they fondly called themselves, sailed to Point Bolivar ; 
here Trespalacios and his men left the rest of the party, 
and sailed down the coast to land in Mexico, where they 
hoped to raise more troops. Long, leaving his family 
at the little fort, advanced to Goliad and captured the 
town. Soon after it was attacked by a large body of 
Royalists and forced to surrender. After months of de- 
lay Long was permitted to go to the City of Mexico, 
where Iturbide had just come into power, and where the 
cause of liberty seemed to triumph. Trespalacios was 
also in the Mexican capital and was made governor of 
Texas. Long was treated as an honored guest. In 
1822 he was shot and killed by a Mexican soldier; the 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 49 

mystery of his assassination has never been ex- 
plained.^* 

Importance of this Era. — Nolan, Magee and Long 
had led more than twelve hundred Americans into Texas 
to wrest the land from Spain. They failed, but their ex- 
peditions convinced Americans that Texas was a fair 
country and prepared the way for the next Era. How- 
ever, the prospect was gloomy. Long's invasion had so 
enraged the Spanish officers that many peaceful settlers 
were driven from the country. Even in San Antonio 
food was often scanty, while the traveler through Texas 
ran the risk of death by starvation. The population did 
not amount to four thousand civilized persons. Smug- 
glers infested the coasts and freebooters, left from La- 
fitte's settlement, spread terror throughout Eastern Texas. 

SUMMARY OF ERA II 

Spain, disturbed by wars,, gave little attention to her American 
colonies. Mexico revolted; and the Mexican Republic was 
established. 

Disputes about the rights of Americans to navigate the Mis- 
sissippi and the Aaron Burr conspiracy made Texas much 
talked of in the United States ; many Americans looked long- 
ingly towards her fertile acres. 

Philip Nolan led about twenty men (1800-1801) into Texas; 
the expedition was attacked by the Spaniards ; Nolan was 
killed ; his men, after years of imprisonment, received from the 
Spanish king a decree that every fifth man should be shot. 

Spain secretly returned (1800) Louisiana to France; contrary 
to his promise Napoleon sold (1803) Louisiana to the United 
States. The United States claimed that Texas was a part of 
Louisiana and hence belonged to her: Spain declared that 
Texas was not a portion of Louisiana and hence belonged to 
her. Serious trouble was averted by an agreement that the 
land between the Sabine River and the Arroyo Hondo should 
be Neutral Ground. 

Magee and Gutierres organized (1812) an expedition of 



50 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

some eight hundred men to free Texas from Spanish rule. 
Magee died during the siege of Goliad, but under command 
of Kemper, the expedition withstood the siege and won vic- 
tories in the battles of Rosillo and the Alazan : at the Medina 
they were defeated and the whole country was laid waste by 
the Spaniards. 

A few Republicans under Herrera took refuge on Galveston 
Island, organized a little Republic and nearly destroyed Spanish 
commerce on the Gulf; they afterwards went to Central America. 
Lafitte made a fortune in Louisiana by smuggling ; the Gov- 
ernor of Louisiana set a price upon his head. During the 
War of 1812 the British offered him great rewards to enter 
their service ; he refused, entered the United States army 
and fought so bravely that all his past offenses were pardoned. 
After the war, he returned to the old life, establishing himself 
on Galveston Island. The United States government (1821) 
forced him to leave Texas. 

Spain sold Florida (1819) to the United States and the 
United States gave up all claim to Texas. 

Dr. James Long (1819) led an expedition into Texas; it 
failed ; he tried yet again, was forced to surrender and was 
finally shot in the City of Mexico. 

This era brought more than twelve hundred Americans into 
Texas and led to its colonization by Americans. 

SUPPLEMENTARY WORK 

To Teachers — Talks by the Teacher: — In order that the 
pupil may fully understand Texas history he must know some- 
thing of the cotemporary European and American history. Yet 
according to a well-known law in pedagogics he must study the 
history of his State before he studies that of the United States 
and of Europe, for he must proceed from the part to the whole, 
from the known to the unknown. In a text-book of this size it 
is impossible to do more than simply mention the outside points; 
hence I ask the teacher, from time to time, to give his class plain, 
simple talks on the topics that need special development, some 
of which are indicated below : such a plan results in good for 
both pupil and teacher. These talks may sometimes take the 
place of opening exercises ; they may also serve as a basis for 
composition work, the class being required now and then to re- 
produce them. Don't however, I beg of you, ask the children 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 5^ 

to do this as a regular thing; let them more often listen to you 
for the pure pleasure of the story you are telling, a pleasure 
unmarred by the fear that they may forget some of the points 
you are making, and thus faif in the reproduction exercise. Noth- 
ing is more fascinating than studying the many forces — Euro- 
pean, Indian and American — that have shaped our state's history; 
nothing appeals more to the imagination of the child. These 
suggestion are made only for the use of those teachers who may 
have the time for this extra work. 



TOPICS SUGGESTED 

(i) Life of Napoleon, showing clearly his course in Spain, 
the circumstances under which he forced Charles and Ferdi- 
nand to abdicate, how he made his brother Joseph king, troubles 
that came after, how all these changes affected Mexico and 
Texas. 

(2) The state of turmoil in Mexico ; giving the interesting de- 
tails of points mentioned in first topics of this era. 

(3) Brief story of the war of 1812, with special mention of 
the battle of New Orleans. 

(4) Louisiana purchased ; the effect of this purchase upon the 
United States and Texas history. Show clearly on what grounds 
the United States claimed Texas. 

(5) The romantic story of the life of Aaron Burr; why the 
Mexican government feared his schemes. 

(6) The " Black Hole " of Calcutta. 

(7) Explain clearly the meaning of privateer, of letters of 
marque and reprisal: show what right Venezuela had to grant 
letters of marque to Lafitte ; show under what circumstances a 
man might one moment be a privateer and the next moment 
become a pirate. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 

(These questions are not mere repetitions of the text, but are 
meant to test the thoroughness with which the pupil has mas- 
tered the thoughts iDrought out in this chapter.) 

Why was Spain in no condition to look after her American 
colonies? Why did the priests first oppose and then favor Mex- 
ico's independence? 



52 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

Why did Spain prohibit her colonies from trading with other 
nations? 

Why did Lieutenant Musqniz send Nolan's ears to the governor 
of Texas? 

When did France fail to keep a promise made to Spain? 

Why did Spain not force France to do as she promised? 

How much did the United States pay for Louisiana? 

What do you mean by "Neutral Ground"? 

Why could there be no law and fixed government in this 
"Neutral Ground"? 

Draw a map showing the boundaries of the United States 
before she bought Louisiana. 

Draw another map showing her boundaries after she bought 
Louisiana. 

Who was Aaron Burr? 

What do you mean when you say he "graduated at West 
Point"? 

Explain the terms, Mexican Royalists, Mexican Republicans. 

Why did Magee resign his commission in the United States 
army? 

Where are La Bahia, Point Bolivar, Nacogdoches, Yucatan, 
and the Medina? 

Describe in your own words the trap Arredondo set for Toledo 
and his men. 

Go to the board and draw any figures you may need to make 
Arredondo's plan perfectly clear. 

Explain : "Napoleon had fallen at Waterloo." 

Why did President Madison forbid Americans invading 
Texas? 

What is a pirate? 

What is the punishment for piracy? 

What do you mean by smuggling? 

Why did the English want such a man as Lafitte to become an 
officer in their army? 

Why did Lafitte not assist Long in his expedition? 

Give the various reasons why Texas had so few inhabitants 
at close of Era II. 

Why is this era an important one? 



ERA II] 



THE FILIBaSTERS 



53 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

In 1806, the only towns of importance in Texas were San An- 
tonio, numbering about 2,000 inhabitants, Goliad with perhaps 
1,400, and Nacogdoches with nearly 500. In spite of the dangers 
that constantly threatened them, many excellent American fami- 
lies had settled near Nacogdoches, and these, with the officers in 
the Mexican army, formed the higher circles of society. Elabo- 
rate dinner-parties were given, at which the conversation was 
bright and sparkling, the toast-speeches witty and eloquent : 
toasts were always given to the King of Spain and the President 
of the United States. In San Antonio lived many descendants 
of aristocratic Spanish families ; the army officers were generally 
men of polished manners, as they often came from the Vice-regal 
Court of Mexico ; the priests were men of learning and refine- 
ment. The governor gave frequent receptions, while each night 
on the p-ublic square the people met to dance, to converse, to 
promenade, and to visit. Captain Pike, who (in 1805-6) was sent 
out by our government on an exploring tour, reported San An- 
tonio to be one of the most delightful places in the Spanish 
colonies. 

STORY OF MRS. JAMES LONG 

In 1815 there lived near Natchez, Miss, at the home of the 
Calverts a young girl of thirteen, who was known far and near 

as pretty Jane Wilkinson. One 

afternoon as she was tying on her 
dainty, green, silk bonnet, a negro 
girl, rushing breathlessly into the 
room, said : " Don't go to school. 
Miss Jane, don't go. A man's just 
come to see the sick soldier that 
Marse Calvert has up stairs." 
"What difference does that make 
to me? Men come to see him all 
the time," answered Jane. 

" Yes, Miss Jane, but this man is 
the handsomest man in the world 
and you just must see him." 

So the little maid dropped her book satchel, hurried into the 
parlor where she met Dr. James Long, who at 19 had already 
made a record for skill and bravery. The young people were 
soon absorbed in a game of checkers, the prize being a pair of 




Mrs. Long at the age of 70 



54 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

gloves. Jane won and the next day Dr. Long called ; " A debt of 
honor must be paid promptly, you know," he said offering the 
gloves. 

"You owe me nothing; I was playing only for amusement; 
ladies do not play for prizes," replied the little beauty. 

"But, take them, please take them as a gift, just a little souv- 
enir of our meeting," pleaded handsome James. 

As she put out her soft white hand to receive the gloves, he 
whispered eagerly: "How I wish I might dare to ask for the 
dear little hand that will wear this glove." 

Cupid did his work quickly and soon the lad asked permission 
to marry Jane. The relatives refused, saying both parties were 
entirely too young even to think of marriage. About this time, 
as Jane's father was dead, it became necessary for her to choose 
a guardian. Imagine the surprise of all, when she pointed to 
her lover and said, " He shall be my guardian." Their wedding 
bells rang May 14, 1815. 

When in June, 1819, Dr. Long started on his expedition to 
Texas, the young wife was not well enough to go with him ; she 
was so miserable on account of- his absence that soon, in spite 
of weakness, she took her two tiny children and set out to join 
him. Traveling in a miserable boat, then on horseback in the 
midst of pouring rain, she reached her sister's at Alexandria, 
La. and was ill for four weeks. Undaunted this girl-wife pushed 
on to Nachitoches, to the Sabine and reached Nacogdoches to 
be joyously clasped in her husband's arms. After a few weeks, 
which were full of rumors of trouble to come, Dr. Long felt 
compelled to leave his wife at Nacogdoches, while he went to 
Galveston Island to ask aid from Lafitte; then came news of the 
approach of the Spanish forces ; again reunited the young couple 
fled to Red River. The death of their youngest child and the 
failure of the first expedition caused Mrs. Long to go to her 
sister's while Dr. Long collected his scattered forces at Bolivar 
Point. She soon joined him, however, and, when in July 1821, 
he marched against Goliad, she remained in the little fort on 
Galveston Bay, promising to wait there till he returned. When 
no news came, the scanty garrison told Mrs. Long they must 
leave and make their way back to Louisiana. " I promised my 
husband to stay here and I shall do so, unless he sends me word 
to flee or I hear of his death," was her reply. The men left and 



ERA II] THE FILIBUSTERS 55 

the devoted wife, not yet twenty-one years old, waited with no 
companions save her two children, the youngest of whom was a 
tiny babe born in the fort and a negro girl, Kian. Winter came 
on, they suffered from cold and hunger, their only food for a. 
time being oysters that Kian got from the Bay. There was 
constant danger from pirates and Indians; when the red men 
came too near, Mrs. Long fired the cannon herself to make them 
believe the fort was still manned. 

In the spring of 1822 a Mexican messenger brought news of 
Dr. Long's murder. Months passed in the lonely fort before 
Mrs. Long had an opportunity of traveling the 300 miles to San 
Antonio. Then she pressed on to Monterey trying to have the 
slayer of her husband punished. Finding her efforts in vain, she 
finally went back to Mississippi on horseback, but returned to 
Texas during the next era, where she was revered by all who 
knew her. She died in Richmond, Texas, in 1880. 

Authorities: President Mirabeau Lamar in Foote's " Texas and the 
Texans," Vol. I, 198. Mrs. Adele B. Looscan, Scarff's Comp. Hist. Texas, 
Vol. I., 649. 



ADVENTURES OF PETER ELLIS BEAN 

Strange as some tale of the Arabian Nights is the story of the 
adventures of Peter Ellis Bean, who upon the death of Nolan 
became leader of the Nolan Expedition. After throwing dice to 
see which one should die (see topic. Fate of Nolan's Men), Bean 
and some of his companions were marched, oftentimes in chains, 
to Mexico. On reaching Acapulco on the Pacific coast, Bean, 
who was considered a dangerous fellow, was placed in solitary 
confinement. Day after day passed ; Bean saw no one save the 
guard who brought him food, and the sentinel who at regular 
intervals passed the door of his cell; but he had one friend, a 
white lizard, that he treated daily to a dainty feast of flies ! 
Questioning the guard he learned that one of his companions 
becoming ill had been taken to the hospital. Here was an idea! 
Why could not he by pretending to be sick be sent to the hos- 
pital, and thus escape his chains and this terrible solitude? A 
few days later he groaned for hours, and complained so bitterly 
that a doctor was called; just before the physician entered Bean 
struck his elbows vigorously against the stone floor, thus making 
his pulse beat faster; the doctor said he had fever and must go 



56 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

at once to the hospital. But alas for Bean's hopes ! Instead of 
being freed from his chains, he was forced to wear them in bed 
and also to have his feet fastened in stocks; his food was scant, 
and meat being considered unhealthy for feverish patients, he 
was allowed each day only the head or neck of a chicken. One 
day, when even more hungry than usual, he angrily asked the 
priest who brought him his dinner: "Why is it that I never 
get any part of tiie fowl but the head and neck?" "You are 
hard to please, prisoner; either eat this or go without," replied 
the priest. Bean threw the plate at the priest, severely wounding 
him in the head. The hospital officers now put Bean's head in 
the stocks, and as this was kept up for fifteen days the suffering 
made him ill indeed. On being taken back to prison, he made 
his escape, hid in a water-cask on an outgoing vessel, but was, at 
the last moment, betrayed by the ship's cook, and led back to 
his cell. The Republicians, soon after this time, rebelled against 
the Royalist government, and the prisoners in the various Mex- 
ican prisons were released, provided they were willing to fight 
for the king. Bean made many promises, was liberated, and 
given arms. For two weeks he fought well, but as soon as an 
opportunity came, he, with all the men he could influence, de- 
serted and went over to the Republicans. Here, under General 
Morelos, Bean distinguished himself for skill and courage. In 
1814, he was sent to the United States to secure aid for the Re- 
publicans ; on his way he visited Lafitte, who accompanied him 
fo New Orleans, were both men fought bravely in the battle of 
New Orleans. When Mexico became a republic Bean was. made 
an officer in the army. He married a rich Mexican senorita. He 
died in 1846. See also Bolton and Barker's ''With the Makers of 
Texas," pages 67-98. 



ERA II] 



THE. FILIBUSTERS 



57 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 

j I. Revolution under Hidalgo 

I (1810). 

I. Condition of Mexico. ■{ 2. Revolution under Morelos. 

3. Empire under Iturbide. 

i 4. Republic established (1824). 



II. Nolan's Expedition. 
(1797-1801) 



1. Reasons for expedition. 

2. Death of Nolan (1801). 

3. Fate of men. Peter Ellis Bean. 



III. Disputed Territory. 



IV. Magee's Expedition. 
(1812-13) 



V. Settlers on Galveston 
Island (1816-1821) 



r. Louisiana Returned to France. 
(1800). 

2. United States purchases Louis- 
iana (1803). 

3. United States claims Texas. 

4. Spain claims a Portion of 
Louisiana. 

5. Neutral Ground (1806). 

6. United States Purchases Florida 
and gives up claim to Texas 
(1819). 

1. Magee and Gutierres. 

2. Object. 

3. Commanders. 

4. Scenes at Goliad — Magee's 
Death. 

5. Americans Capture San An- 
tonio (March, 1813). 

6. Massacre of Spanish Officers. 

7. Success at the Alazan. 
Defeat at the Medina (Aug. 18, 

1. Failure of Herrera's 
Settlement. 

2. Lafitte. 



Z)- 



VI. LTnited States gives 
up claim to Texas (1819). 



58 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



J2 



VII. Long's Expeditions 



{ I. Cause 
J 2. Failui 
( ;. Long' 



V^III. Importance of these 
expeditions. 



ERA III 

ERA OP COLONIZATION 

(1819-1830) 

[For footnotes see page 309] 
Austin's colony 

While the stirring events of the last epoch were hap- 
pening, rumors of the wonderful soil and climate of 
Texas spread far and wide. Many a fugitive from the 
ill-fated expeditions bore the story of his adventures to 
distant States. 

Moses Austin. — 1 There lived at this time in Mis- 
souri Moses Austin, a man of strong character and un- 
tiring energy. He resolved to visit Texas and secure a 
tract of land for colonization. The time seemed favor- 
able for his plans, as the United States had given up all 
claims to Texas, as he had been for a time a Spanish 
subject (see note, p. 305), and as the more liberal section 
of the Royalist party was in power. In 1820, Austin 
arrived in San Antonio, where he laid his petition for a 
grant of land before Martinez (mar-tee'neth), the gov- 
ernor of the province. Instead of the kindness and en- 
couragement he had hoped to receive. Governor Martinez 
showed him only Suspicion. His petition was thrown 
aside, and he was ordered to leave the province at once. 

A Friend in Need. — With a heavy heart Austin left 
the Governor's building, not knowing what fate might 
befall him. Just then he happened to meet on the Plaza 

59 



60 DEATH OF MOSES AUSTIN [1821 

Baron de Bastrop,^ an officer of importance, whose ac- 
quaintance he had made in the United States. To him 
Austin confided everything. Bastrop proved himself a 
true friend ; through his influence the Governor allowed 
Austin to remain some time in San Antonio, examined 
his petition, approved it, and used his influence to secure 
the approval of higher officers. 

Returns Home to Die. — Not having time to wait for 
the officials' decision, but feeling certain of success, in 
January,. 1821, Austin set out for home. A portion of 
the country over which he passed was scarcely more 
than a wilderness ; the weather was cold, and food was 
scarce ; he suffered mitold hardships. His health was 
ruined: Some weeks after he reached home he died 
(June 10, 1821). A few days before his death he re- 
ceived news that his petition had been granted, and that 
he was authorized to settle three hundred families in 
Texas. His dying request was that his son Stephen 
should take up the work and carry out the plans that they 
together had made. 

Stephen F. Austin needed no urging to undertake the 
task his father had left him. He was in New Orleans 
making arrangements for the colony when he learned 
that his father had secured a grant of land. He hastened 
to Natchitoches to meet the Mexican Commissioners, Se- 
guin and Veramendi, who had been sent to meet the elder 
Austin ; near here Austin ^ heard the sad news of his 
father's death. Being informed of the state of affairs, 
the commissioners were quite willing to acknowledge 
Stephen Austin's claims. Scguin and Austin arrived in 
San Antonio August 12, 1821,^ and were cordially re- 
ceived by the Governor, who granted Austin permission 
to explore the country adjacent to the Colorado River 
and choose what lands he wished. Austin selected for 



ERA III] 



COLONIZATION 



6i 



his colony the region lying south of the San Antonio 
road, on the " courses of the Brazos and Colorado 




Rivers." This included some of the most fertile land in 

the province, and was the best choice he could have made. 

Inducements Offered to Colonists. — Returning to 



62 AUSTIN'S COLONY [1821 

New Orleans, Austin advertised for colonists. To each 
man over twenty-one he promised, in the name of the 
Mexican government, six hundred and forty acres of 
land; if married, the man received three hundred and 
twenty more ; each child brought the father one hundred 
and sixty acres, while each slave brought his master 
eighty acres. ^ The colonists were to pay Austin twelve 
and one-half cents per acre,^ as some general fund was 
needed to meet the expenses of surveying the land and 
obtaining titles. When a colonist built a mill or any 
structure of use to the public, he was given more land. 
Merchants and mechanics were given town lots on which 
they might erect their stores or shops. Austin, as em- 
presario, or leader of the colony, was, on the fulfilment 
of his contract to settle three hundred families, to receive 
immense grants of land. All colonists were required to 
become Roman Catholics, to swear to uphold the govern- 
ment of the Spanish king, and to furnish evidence of 
good moral character.''' With the promise of so much 
good fortune, many immigrants were willing to follow 
Austin. 

The Schooner " Lively " and the First Colonists.— 
Austin's plan was to establish two routes for entering 
Texas, one overland and one from New Orleans by 
water. He himself came " by way of Red River, Natch- 
itoches and the San Antonio Road, collecting his colonists 
at various points as he proceeded." ^ 

He wished to send by water tools and provisions. As 
he did not have the money to do this, he formed a part- 
nership with Joseph Hawkins of New Orleans; a little 
schooner, " The Lively," with perhaps twenty men and 
generous supplies was started from New Orleans about 
November 22, 1821. She had directions to wait for 
Austin at the mouth of the Colorado. 




MAP FOR ERAS III. AND IV. 



64 AUSTIN'S COLONY [1822 

For some reason the boat stopped, after an ugly voy- 
age of four weeks, at the Brazos, landed tools, men, pro- 
visions, and journeyed to the west. After waiting for 
Austin several days the little group went on an exploring 
tour and finally settled a few miles up the river and 
made a crop. Life was so hard that most of them re- 
turned to the United States the next year. ** The 
Lively " came back to New Orleans, took on a new cargo 
and more passengers, and started once more for Texas: 
near Galveston Island she was wrecked (May or June 
1822), but her passengers were saved. 

Austin Settles on the Brazos. — December, 1821, 
Austin and his companions reached Texas. They settled 
on the Lower Brazos, in Washington County. Austin hur- 
ried on, hoping to meet "The Lively" at the appointed 
place : anxiously he waited, but no news came, and the em- 
presario was obliged to return to his colony. Though 
greatly inconvenienced ^ by the loss of the boat, Austin 
and his men bravely began the work of changing Texas 
from a wilderness to a land of homes, schools and 
churches. 

Trip to Mexico. — After a short time a revolution took 
place in Mexico. As his colony was now established, he 
thought it best to go to San Antonio and report to the 
proper officers what he had done. Imagine his sur- 
prise when he learned that on account of the revolu- 
tion 1^ in Mexico it would be necessary for him to go to 
the City of Mexico and have his grant renewed. He 
also wished to have a full undertanding concerning his 
rights in controlling the colonists. No time was to be 
lost. Leaving the settlement under the charge of Josiah 
Bell, of South Carolina, who had recently arrived with 
his young Kentucky bride, he started for Mexico.^^ 

Success of his Mission. — Reaching Mexico, April, 



ERA III] 



COLONIZATION 



65 



1822, he found the government in such a disturbed con- 
dition that he was forced to stay there over a year. 
Never did the genius of Austin shine forth more bril- 
Hantly than at this time. In a strange land, whose people 
were born with distrust of his country, in the midst of 
warring parties and revolutions, when no one else seemed 
able to get permanent action from the Mexican govern- 
ment, he succeeded in renewing his grant, and obtaining 
a statement as to his powers. In 1823, he returned to 
Texas. 

Growth of the Colony. — 
Austin found his colony almost 
deserted. Discouraged by his 
long absence, many of the col- 
onists had drifted to the east- 
ern part of Texas ; new immi- 
grants who had expected to 
settle in Austin's colony stopped 
in Eastern Texas. This course 
was not a wise one, as they 
had no legal right to these 
lands, and were liable to be 
thrust out at any time. But 
with the home-coming of Aus- 
tin came new life and greater 
prosperity ; settlers returned, 
scores of new immigrants from 
various parts of the world 
poured in, all was life and ac- 
tivity. Baron de Bastrop was 
appointed to survey lands and, 

with the help of Austm, to is- statue of Austin 

sue to the colonists land deeds by Elizabeth Ney 

in the name of the Mexican government. Don Luciano 




^ DEWITT'S COLONY [1825 

Garcia, the Governor of Texas, was a friend to the 
colony, and did all he could to make it succeed. In 
July 1823, he declared that San Felipe de Austin on 
the Brazos should be the capital : the town was founded 
in 1824. 

Austin's Rule. — In the colony, Austin, as empressario, 
was, in most respects, absolute ruler.12 Seldom does a 
man who has unlimited power govern with such mild- 
ness as did Austin ; he was well named the " Father of 
his colony." Never marrying, he devoted himself en- 
tirely to his people. He knew how to be severe when 
duty demanded. Several disorderly men were banished 
from the colony, and some were flogged. 

Later Contracts. — Having by 1825 introduced the 
three hundred families ^^ called for in his contract, 
Austin asked and obtained permission to bring in five 
hundred more; in 1827 he was ready for another hun- 
drqi.14 In 1828 he obtained land for three hundred, 
rnaking 1,200 families he brought into Texas. Leaving 
his colony growing thus rapidly, it will be best to take a 
glance at other parts of Texas. 

DE WITT'S COLONY 

Waiting for a Colonization Law. — While AuB'dn was 
in Mexico trying to secure permission to carry out the 
plans he and his father had made. Green De Witt, of 
Missouri, was also in the city to obtain a grant of land. 
Austin was treated with more favor than the other em- 
presarios, for as his case was considered special his pe- 
tition was granted in 1823, while all others were forced 
to wait until the Mexican Congress passed a general 
law for colonists.i^ 

Location. — Finally in 1825 De Witt was granted the 



ERA III] COLONIZATION (^7 

right to settle four hundred families in the territory 
west^^ of Austin's colony. 

James Kerr. — As De Witt expected to be absent 
from his colony much of the time, he appointed as his 
trusted agent James Kerr (kar), who resigned a seat 
in the Senate of Missouri to accept the position, 

Gonzales Founded. — In the fall of 1825 Kerr with a 
handful of settlers ^^ founded the capital of the colony, 
Gonzales, so called from Don Rafael Gonzales, the Gov- 
ernor of Texas and Coahuila. These pioneers were the 
only Americans west of the Colorado, their nearest neigh- 
bors being sixty miles away. Trouble with the Indians 
forced the colony to flee to the settlements on the Col- 
orado. Later Kerr moved his settlers to the Lavaca. 
After much trouble and many disappointments, De Witt 
and Kerr had the satisfaction of establishing the colony 
firmly at Gonzales. From 1828 the tiny hamlet pros- 
pered ; block houses and a small fort were erected. A 
census 1^ taken at this time shows seventy-five men, 
women and children. 

DE LEON'S COLONY 

Location. — In 1824 Martin De Leon, a Mexican by 
birth, was given permission to settle forty-one Mexican 
families on unoccupied ground in Texas. While his 
colony was given no fixed limits, yet he claimed the 
understanding was that his men had the right to settle 
anywhere on the lower courses of the Guadalupe and 
Lavaca Rivers up to within ten leagues of the coast. 

De Witt and De Leon.— When in 1825 De Witt 
came back from Mexico and passed on to Gonzales, he 
was amazed to find that in the midst of land just granted 
to him, De Leon had settled twelve Mexican and sixteen 



68 



DEWITT AND DE LEON 



[1825 



American families and had established his capital, Guad- 
alupe Victoria. 1'^ 

De Leon Wins. — De Witt and Kerr realized that 
they must act with caution, as one of the conditions of 
their grant was that all previous lawful settlers were to 
be left undisturbed ; they also knew that De Leon's Mex- 
ican birth would count greatly in his favor. They found 
it impossible to understand how the same land could be 
legally granted to different people. They asked the Mex- 




Starting to Texas 



ican officers to let them transfer to De Leon the land on 
which he had settled, at the same time requesting more 
land for themselves, so they might have enough for their 
four hundred families. De Leon claimed that as a 
native Mexican he had under the law first choice of land. 
In October, 1825, the Governor decided in favor of 
De Leon, the land commissioner made over the land to 
him and proceeded to lay out the little capital in formal 
order. Some years later De Leon obtained permission 
to settle one hundred and fifty families. 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 69 

Austin Acts as Peace-maker. — De Witt and his col- 
onists felt that they had been unjustly treated. Many 
disagreements arose and there was bitter feeling between 
Gonzales and Victoria, but finally through the efforts of 
Stephen F. Austin, who might well be called the " Great 
Peace-maker," all serious trouble was avoided. 

EDWARDS'S COLONY 

Location. — In April, 1825, a large tract of land in 
Eastern Texas was granted to Hayden Edwards.^^^ 
His contract called for eight hundred families. In Octo- 
ber of the same year, Edwards, with his family and a 
number of immigrants, arrived in Nacogdoches, which 
was to be the capital of the colony. 

Troubles of the Colony. — Edwards found many 
troubles awaiting him. Since 1779, when Gil y Barbo 
founded Nacogdoches, there had been Mexican families 
living near the little town. Indians, rough char- 
acters from the Neutral Ground, and daring American 
adventurers, all claimed more or less of the land granted 
to Edwards. As empresario Edwards was instructed to 
respect the rights of all settlers who held legal titles to 
their land. He ordered that all settlers who held land 
certificates should present those certificates to him, that 
it might be decided whether the certificates were legal or 
not. He warned those who did not present certificates 
that the land claimed by them would be sold. This ac- 
tion naturally displeased all those who had not taken out 
land titles ; the Mexican settlers were offended that Ed- 
wards, an American, should be placed over them. The 
officials of Texas and Coahuila said Edwards had no au- 
thority to sell land and from this time they seemed preju- 
diced against him. 



70 EDWARDS'S COLONY [1825 

Election of Alcalde. — Edwards gave orders (Decem- 
ber 15) for the election of militia officers, and also ad- 
vised the election of an alcalde (a magistrate or judge). 
His enemies claimed he was acting beyond his authority, 
and made complaint against him to higher Mexican offi- 
cials. To make matters still worse the Americans put 
forward, as their candidate for alcalde, Chaplin, Ed- 
wards's son-in-law, while the Mexicans favored Samuel 
Norris. The colonists decided that Chaplin was elected, 
and he took possession of the office, but Edwards's ene- 
mies, claiming that the election was not conducted fairly, 
reported the whole matter to the political chief at San 
Antonio. The chief decided Norris should be alcalde, 
and issued his orders to that effect. Chaplin yielded. 
Then began a series of misfortunes and trials for the 
Americans ; every disputed title, every claim that came 
before the alcalde, was decided in favor of the Mexican. 

Letter to the Governor. — In the midst of all this 
trouble, Hayden Edwards was compelled to go (1826) 
on business to the United States. He left everything in 
charge of his brother Benjamin. As the troubles in- 
creased, Edwards, acting upon the advice of Austin,^! 
wrote a full account of the entire matter to Blanco, Gov- 
ernor of Texas and Coahuila. Before a reply was re- 
ceived, Hayden Edwards returned, only to be met by 
rumors that his contract was to be annulled and all the 
property of his colonists to be given over to the Mexi- 
cans. 

Edwards Ordered to Leave.— Finally came Blanco's 
response to Benjamin Edwards's letter. After stating 
that the letter showed a lack of respect for superior offi- 
cials, and after naming the charges against Edwards, 
Blanco added : " In view of such proceedings, by which 
the conduct of Hayden Edwards is well attested, I have 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 71 

decreed the annulment of his contract, and his expulsion 
from the territory of the Republic. He has lost the con- 
fidence of the government, which is suspicious of his 
fidelity ; besides, it is not prudent to admit those who 
begin by dictating laws. If to you or your constituents 
these measures are unwelcome and prejudicial, you can 
apply to the supreme government ; but you will first evac- 
uate the country ; both yourself and Hayden Edwards." 

Edwards Rebels. — Edwards had spent some $50,000 
on his colony ; many of the settlers had gone to great ex- 
pense in coming to Texas ; these now saw ruin staring 
them in the face. Mexicans claimed everything that 
belonged to Edwards's party. Edwards decided to throw 
oflf Mexican rule and fight for what he considered jus- 
tice. 

Republic of Fredonia. — He wrote asking aid from 
other Americans in Texas, especially from Austin's and 
De Witt's colonists, also from the United States and 
from the Indians. The Cherokees, under two strong 
leaders. Fields and John Dunn Hunter,22 were much dis- 
pleased with the Mexican government for not giving 
to them a grant of land : they entered into a solemn 
compact to aid the colony against the Mexicans. 
Edwards and some of his men, having assumed the 
name of Fredonians, assembled in convention with the 
representatives of the Cherokees and in due form de- 
clared that the " Republic of Fredonia " was and ever 
should be independent of Mexico. The convention di- 
vided Texas into two parts (the division mark being a 
line running north of Nacogdoches to the Rio Grande), 
the northern section of which was to belong to the In- 
dians and the southern section to the Americans. Norris 
was deprived of his office as alcalde. Preparations were 
made for war. 



72 FREDONTANS [1827 

Fredonian Rebellion Fails. — Edwards was disap- 
pointed on every side. Austin, knowing the Fredonian 
colonists could not succeed, refused aid, and rebuked 
them for allying themselves to the savages ; no volunteers 
came from the United States ; Peter ElHs Bean, sent by 
the Mexican government, visited the Indians, and by 
promising them the land they wished induced them to 
desert the Fredonians. A force of Mexican soldiers ad- 
vanced (January, 1827) against Nacogdoches. When 
they reached San Felipe de Austin, Col. Austin induced 
Col. Ahumada (a-ii-ma'-da), the Mexican commander, 
to offer free pardon to all Fredonians and to announce 
that Edwards might lay his case before the state author- 
ities. Paying no heed to this offer, Edwards and Martin 
Palmer, the miHtary leader of the Fredonians, sent a 
strong appeal to the Cherokees for aid, but the savages 
went over in a body to -the Mexicans. Overpowered by 
the strength of the enemy, the Fredonians fled January 
31, 1827, into the United States. Through Austin's in- 
fluence, the Mexicans treated the colonists who remained 
with some justice."^ Edward's grant was divided between 
David G. Burnet, Lorenzo de Zavala and Joseph Vehlein.^* 

Unfortunate Results. — From this time the Mexicans 
distrusted the American colonists : they felt that all Anglo- 
Saxons were only waiting an opportunity to rebel and 
take possession of Texas. On the other hand, the Ameri- 
cans saw the Mexicans were not yet ready to rule them- 
selves and certainly not ready to rule others. They felt 
there was no hope for justice in a trial between Mexican 
and American when the judge was a Mexican. 

TEXAS AS A WHOLE 

Empresario System. — During this era about twenty- 
six empresarios took out grants of land.-^ The 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 73 

empresario system was a favorite method of coloniza- 
tion with the Mexicans. The empresario made a petition 
to the government for permission to settle at his own 
expense a given number of families upon unoccupied 
lands. For each one hundred families settled in Texas, 
the empresario was given five square leagues (22,142 
acres) of grazing land and five labors (885 acres) of 
land suitable for cultivation. If within six years from 
the date of the contract, the empresario had not settled 
the promised number of families, he lost many of his 
rights and privileges, while if he had not settled one hun- 
dred families his contract became null and void. 

Year of Immigration. — The year 1825 has been called 
the year of immigration, for then it was (March 24th) 
that the State legislature of Texas and Coahuila passed 
a liberal colonization law, and declared that the govern- 
ment was eager to see Texas settled with industrious, 
liberty-loving citizens. Led by the generous offers of 
land, and the fair promises of the government, many 
Americans not connected with the colony of an empres- 
ario came to Texas, and received grants of land directly 
from the State. 

Texas Joined to Coahuila. — Texas was until 1824 a 
separate province of Mexico, but at that time Texas, 
Nuevo (nua-vo) Leon, and Coahuila were united in one 
state. In a few months Nuevo Leon was made a sepa- 
rate state. The " State of Coahuila, and Texas " had its 
capital located at Saltillo. As this arrangement caused 
the governor to live so great a distance from Texas, a 
Chief of the Department of Texas was appointed, with 
headquarters at San Antonio ; this officer performed many 
of the duties of governor, but he was in all things de- 
pendent upon his superior officer. The Congress (cor- 
responding to our legislature) of the State of Coahuila 



74 LOCAL GOVERNMENT [1827 

and Texas adopted a Constitution, which was pubHshed 
in 1827. The State officers were not elected directly by 
the people. The whole plan of union with Coahuila 
was unpleasant to the Texans. They were promised, 
however, that as soon as Texas reached a certain popula- 
tion she should become a separate State. 

Local Government. — Every town of one thousand in- 
habitants was entitled to an ayuntamiento (a-yun-ta-mi- 
en'-to) (common council), which was composed of the 
alcaldes (judges), the sindico (sen-de'-ko), (a re- 
corder), and the regidores (ra-he-dors') (aldermen), all 
of whom were elected directly by the people. We shall 
see in the next era that these town officers did much for 
the cause of liberty in Texas's struggle for independence. 

The Indians. — During this era the Indians were a 
source of danger to all Texas colonists. Some of the em- 
presarios tried to win their friendship by kindness, but 
when this plan failed, force was used. After many se- 
vere punishments, the savages, learning that the Amer- 
ican settlers never failed to pay back with interest every 
injury, grew less troublesome. In recalling the hard- 
ships of Texas veterans, we must not forget that while 
one hand guided the plow, the other was forced to wield 
the sword to protect the lives of wives and little ones. 

Character of the Colonists. — While some of the peo- 
ple who came to settle in Texas were rude and ignorant, 
yet many of the colonists were from the best families of 
both the North and the South ; some, like the elder 
Austin, left their old homes becaused they had failed in 
business, and thought the new West offered better op- 
portunities to them and to their children ; some came for 
health ; others were led by love of adventure and longing 
for new scenes. Had the early Texans not been men 
and women of more than ordinary courage and strength 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 75 

of character, our history would not have been so rich in 
heroic deeds. 

Growth. — The great progress made during this era 
is best to be seen by comparison. In 1820 there were not 
more than four thousand civihzed inhabitants in Texas, 
while in 1830 the State boasted about twenty thousand 
Americans alone. From the Sabine to the Neucts em- 
presarios had taken out grants until the whole surface 
of the province seemed covered. Columbia, Brazoria, 
Gonzales, Victoria, San Felipe de Austin became as fa- 
miliar names as Bexar, Goliad and Nacogdoches. Waste 
places were fast giving way to fertile farms and blooming 
gardens. The sturdy American colonists, trained to self- 
government, had done more for Texas in ten years than 
the Spaniards in three hundred years. 

SUMMARY OF ERA III 

Moses Austin, from Missouri, came to San Antonio in 1820. 
Aided by Baron de Bastrop, he obtained permission from the 
Spanish government to settle 300 families in Texas. He died 
(June 1821) from exposure on his return trip. Taking up his 
father's work, Stephen F. Austin located his grant of land on 
the lower course of the Brazos and the Colorado. Generous 
offers of land attracted many colonists. A revolution forced 
Austin to go to the City of Mexico (1822) ; in a year he re- 
turned after a special law had been passed by the Mexican con- 
gress regulating matters in his colony. He was granted the 
right to settle 1,200 families and was the leading figure in the 
whole colonial era. 

A general colonization law passed the Mexican Congress in 
1824: Texas and Coahuila passed a detailed colonization law in 
1825. Under these laws Green De Witt received permission to 
settle four hundred families in territory west of Austin's colony. 
Gonzales, the capital, was founded in 1825. 

Martin De Leon was given the right to settle 41 Mexican 
families on unoccupied land. He settled on land in De Witt's 
grant. When a contest arose between the two empresarios, the 



y6 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

Governor of Texas and Coahuila decided in favor of the 
Mexican. Austin, the Peace-maker, prevented any serious trou- 
ble between the two colonies. 

In 1825 Hayden Edwards was authorized to settle eight hun- 
dred families in East Texas. Trouble arose over Mexican and 
American settlers who already claimed certain sections of this 
grant. Edwards and his brother indiscreetly antagonized the 
Mexican officials and were ordered to leave Texas. They re- 
belled and organized the Republic of Fredonia ; no aid came 
from any source, hence the rebellion failed. Edwards left the 
province and Austin persuaded the Mexican officers to deal 
gently with the colonists. 

1825 is known as the Year of Immigration. About twenty-six 
empresarios took out grants during this era. In spite of trouble 
with Indians and many hardships Texas grew rapidly. 



MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 

[Read Bolton and Barker's " With the Makers of Texas," 
pages 99-158.] 

On the Brazos. 
Texas, November 5, 1830. 

Dear Friend: Your letter came a month since. I am sure 
you cannot imagine with what joy it was read; you, who re- 
ceive your mail twice a week, know nothing of the hunger we 
suffer for news from friends, relatives, and the great world. If 
the mail reaches us once a month, we consider ourselves fortu- 
nate. But, after all, there is a silver lining to this dark cloud, 
for when letters and papers do arrive, we enjoy them a thousand 
times more than we did in Virginia. Dear old Virginia! I love 
even to write the name, it brings back so many pleasant mem- 
ories. 

But now to answer your numerous questions concerning our 
Texas home. When we reached here, for some weeks we camped 
out, or tented, as it is called, for Mr. Ray had so much to do 
in looking over the country, that he had no time for building. 
Early one morning, however, the negroes — we had brought ten 
with us — were set to work, and in a few days I was mistress of 
a mansion. It is a log house, with two large rooms and a 
broad hall between and is considered the palace of the sur- 



ERA III] COLONIZATION ^^ 

rounding country. I never remember experiencing a greater 
thrill of pride than when I stepped into my log castle. Doors 
are unheard-of luxuries, so I have hung gay quilts across the 
openings where the doors ought to be. A bed and table are 
my only pieces of furniture, as all our goods shipped from New 
Orleans were lost. Trunks answer for chairs. You may wonder 
why we do not buy furniture, but when I tell you the nearest 
town is seventy-five miles away, and that there you must have 
everything made, you will not be surprised at our condition. 

Never, my dear Florence, did I see true hospitality until I came 
here. At every house, be it ever so humble, you are a welcome 
guest; they ask you to have coffee; or, if it be meal-time, to 
share their food. The coffee-pot is always kept filled. I'd like 
to see you take a drink of it. The average Texan scorns cream 
and sugar ; he wants his coffee as strong and black as possible. 
I have learned to drink it bitter, for since our sugar gave out 
we have not been able to get more. As you are curious to know 
what we find to eat, I'll enter into particulars. When we came 
here game was scarce for several months on account of a 
drought. We engaged an Indian, whose sole duty was to sup- 
ply us with meat, and, as he knows the surrounding country, he 
has kept us stocked with game and bird-eggs. We could do 
without him now, for the woods are full of birds and prairie 
chickens, but we have become so much attached to him that we 
hate to give him up. For bread we have not fared so well. Our 
flour was shipped, but never reached us. We have had enough 
corn-bread most of the time and have no fear for the future. 
Did you ever do without salt for a week? That is the experience 
we had, and other colonists went without for much longer. You 
cannot imagine how necessary it is to your comfort till you 
are deprived of it. Dear me ! it makes me shudder to think how 
tasteless everything was. Our hunter brings us plenty of honey, 
which he gets from the " honey-trees," so called because the bees 
are fond of depositing their honey in that kind of a tree. Many 
of the hunters will not be bothered gathering the honey, as they 
wish the wax to sell to the Mexicans. You know the Mexicans 
are Catholics, hence they consume great quantities of the wax in 
making candles for their churches. By the way, speaking of 
honey reminds me of a curious fact our hunter told me about 
bees. He says bees never come to a country except when the 



78 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

palefaces are to follow. Whenever the honey becomes plentiful 
the wise Indian moves away, for he feels sure the Great Spirit has 
sent him this warning that the whites are coming. 

About a week after our arrival our nearest neighbor, only 
thirty miles away, sent us some butter, eggs, and chickens, with 
the request for coffee in exchange. I was only too willing, as I 
was anxious for poultry. This system of trade is rather com- 
mon. If you decide to emigrate, bring with you a large supply of 
coffee, sugar, and quinine and I believe you can buy up almost 
everything in the country. We now have an abundance of but- 
ter and milk, while my fowls are fine as any you have. 

All settlers in Texas have not been so fortunate as we have. 
The following pitiful account was given me by Mr. Dewees,* who 
has written a series of interesting letters on Texas : *' Our suf- 
ferings have been great for want of provisions. On account of 
the dry weather our crops were poor and are now entirely spent; 
the game left this section of the country. There have 
many new settlers come on this fall, and those who have not been 
accustomed to hunting in the woods for support must suffer. A 
party of men is obliged to go each morning to hunt food, leav- 
ing some men at home to guard the women and children from 
the Indians, who are very hostile. Game is now so scarce that 
we often hunt all day for a deer or a turkey, and return at night 
empty-handed. It would make your heart ache to see the poor 
little half-naked children, who have eaten nothing during the 
day, watch for the return of the hunters at night. As soon as 
they catch the first glimpse of them, they run to meet them. If 
the hunters return with a deer or a turkey, the children are 
almost wild with delight; if the hunters are empty-handed, the 
children stop in their courses, their countenances fall, the tears 
well up in their eyes and roll down their pale cheeks." 

The dress of the people varies according to the length of time 
they have been in Texas. Acting on my mother's advice I 
brought clothes enough to last us several years; others have 
done the same, but the great majority brought scanty wardrobes. 
The question of buying dry-goods here is a serious one. Calico 
costs seventy-five cents per yard. As money is scarce with us all, 
a lady seldom has more than one Texas calico dress. Men and 
women sometimes dress in skins. 

* See " Letters from an Early Settler of Texas," by W. B. Dewees, 
P- 43- 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 79 

The society is just what you might expect from the mixture 
of people we have here. Last Sunday we paid a long-promised 
visit to Mr. V. and family ; he was a classmate of my husband 
at the University of Virginia. They are living in a shed built 
under a cluster of trees, as their log house is not yet finished. 
There were no windows, but the light had plenty of room to 
come in at the cracks. In that one little room there were four 
beds, — as white and inviting looking as any in Richmond, — 
china, glassware, a few pieces of silver, and several books. All 
was as neat as wax. Mrs. V. was dressed in a linen wrapper 
and a lace cap, while Mr. V. was also in faultless attire. 
Now, that is one side of the picture; here is the other. The next 
day we had occasion to stop for dinner at Mr. K.'s. He and 
his wife were dressed in skins. The cabin was dirty; the rickety 
old bed was still dirtier; the bill of fare consisted of fried 
bacon, black cofTee, and corn-bread. The host took Mr. R. aside 
and asked : " What was your name before you came to Texas 
and what did you do to make you come? Mr. Ray answered. 
" I came for health, and my name was as it is now, Henry Ray." 
It was easy to see that our host did not believe the statement; 
we afterwards found that he left Georgia five years ago for 
stealing horses. It gives me pleasure to be able to say that we 
have met more people of culture and refinement than of rough 
and coarse natures ; it provokes us to think that throughout so 
many of the States the common belief is that Texas has been 
for the most part settled by desperadoes and villains. 

Of our educational advantages I cannot boast. Mexico has 
recently passed two laws : one that a school shall be established 
in each division of each State; the other that children shall be 
taught reading, arithmetic, Roman Catholic religion, and a cate- 
chism of all the arts and sciences. These laws amount to noth- 
ing. We really have no system of public education. A few ex- 
cellent private schools exist. As the country becomes more 
thickly settled, these will increase. 

Last week we had the pleasure of entertaining for the night 
Mr. T. J. Pilgrim, who about a year ago came out to Texas from 
New York. After many adventures he reached San Felipe de 
Austin and was most kindly received by the great empresario, 
Austin. He at once opened a school, and soon had forty pupils, 
the most of whem were boys. He told us he had never taught 



8o SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

brighter or better children, they seemed so anxious to learn and 
improve every moment of time. Mr. Pilgrim also organized a 
Sunday school, and this, too, w^as a great success, until some 
trouble arose between a few of the settlers and some Mexicans; 
the Mexicans, much out of humor, came to San Felipe to settle 
the matter, and Austin fearing they would report to the au- 
thorities that he was violating the law (for, you probably know, 
we are not by law allowed to teach or believe the Protestant re- 
ligion, though really I don't believe the officers care), thought 
best to close the Sunday school. By the way, Mr. Pilgrim knows 
Mrs. Josiah H. Bell, whom you admired so much when you met 
her in Kentucky just before she married and came to Texas. 
Mr. Pilgrim visited Mr. and Mrs. Bell not long since, and in 
telling us of their home, he said : 

" I met Josiah H. Bell on his way to his home in Columbia, 
and from him I received a cordial invitation to accompany him 
home. I cheerfully accepted, and the next night was spent with 
his family. Mr. Bell is an estimable gentleman, a pure patriot, 
of stern, unyielding integrity : he has endured the privations, toils, 
and hardships incident to the settlement of a new country, and 
knows well how to sympathize with others in like circumstances. 
He told me he had gone thirty miles and packed corn horse- 
back to feed his family; had taken his rifle in the morning and 
gone in search of a deer, knowing, if successful, they would have 
meat, if not, they must all do without ; but seldom did his trusty 
rifle fail him or his family suffer. They are now living in com- 
parative affluence, with an interesting family of children. Mrs. 
Bell is one of the noblest women I ever knew in any country; 
though living in the wilds of Texas, her intelligence, good taste, 
and polished manners would grace the most refined circles of 
New York or Philadelphia. Her house is a welcome home to 
every stranger, where the hungry are fed, the naked clad, the sick 
nursed with that tenderness and sympathy which removes many 
a dark cloud from the brow of sorrow, and causes the lonely 
wanderer to feel less acutely the absence of home and relatives." 
How often do we attend church? Don't be too shocked when 
I tell you we heard our last sermon in Virginia. If we wanted 
to go to church ever so much, we could find in this part of Texas 
no church and no minister. I have heard that in other portions 
of the country a few preachers, in spite of the laws, do live 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 8l 

and hold services, but we have not even a Catholic church 
anywhere near us. Sunday is spent by most Texans in hunt- 
ing, fishing, and breaking wild horses. All elections are held 
on Sunday. Some of us, however, observe the Sabbath, and 
try to live as if we were still in Virginia. . . . 

Hoping you may make up your mind to pay us a visit, and 
with much love to all my friends, 

I am, ever yours, 

Julia C. Ray. 

Gentle Breeding in a Cabin.* " I found him (Thomas B. 
Bell) living on the San Bernard, domiciled in a pole-cabin in the 
midst of a small clearing upon which was a crop of corn. His 
wife, every inch a lady, welcomed me with as much cordiality 
as if she were mistress of a mansion. There were two young 
children and they, too, showed in their every manner the effects 
of gentle training. The whole family were dressed in buckskin, 
and when supper was announced, we sat on stools around a 
clapboard table, upon which were arranged wooden platters. 
Beside each platter lay a fork made of a joint of cane. The 
knives were of various patterns, ranging from butcher knives to 
pocket-knives. And for cups, we had little wild cymlings, 
scraped and scoured until they looked as white and clean as 
earthenware, and the milk with which the cups were filled was 
as pure and sweet as mortal ever tasted. The repast was of the 
simplest, but served with as much grace as if it had been a 
feast, which, indeed, it became, seasoned with the kindly man- 
ners and pleasant conversation of those two entertainers. Not 
a word of apology was uttered during my stay of a day and 
a night, and when I left them I did so with a hearty invitation 
to repeat my visit. It so happened that I never was at their 
place again, but was told that in the course of time the pole 
cabin gave place to a handsome brick house and that the rude 
furnishings were replaced by the best the country boasted, but I'll 
venture to say that the host and hostess still retained their old 
hospitality unchanged by change* of fortune." 

Visit to De Witt's Colony .t " Next morning I set out 
(from mouth of Lavaca River) on foot for Dewitt's colony. . , , 

* From Smithwiek, " The Evolution of a State," p. 33. 
t From 3mithwicl£, "The Evolution of a State," pp. 14-16. 



82 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

The colonists, consisting of a dozen families, were living — if 
such existence could be called living — huddled together for se- 
curity against the Karankawas, who,- though not openly hostile, 
were not friendly. The rude log cabins, windowless and floor- 
less, have been so often described as the abode of the pioneer 
as to require no repetition here ; suffice it to say that save as a 
partial protection against rain and sun they were absolutely de- 
void of comfort. Dewitt had at first established his headquarters 
at Gonzales, and the colonists had located their land in the vi- 
cinity, but the Indians stole their horses and otherwise annoyed 
them so much, notwithstanding the soldiers, that they abandoned 
the colony and moved down on the Lavaca, where they were 
just simply staying. . . . Game was plenty the year round, 
so there was no need of starving. Men talked hopefully of the 
future; children reveled in the novelty of the present; but the 
women — ah, there was where the situation bore heaviest. . . . 
They had not even the solace of constant employment. The 
spinning wheel and loom had been left behind. There was, as 
yet, no use for them — there was nothing to spin. There was no 
house to keep in order ; the meager fare was so simple as to 
require little time for its preparation. There was no poultry, no 
dairy, no garden, no books, or papers ... no schools, no 
churches — nothing to break the dull monotony of their lives, 
save an occasional wrangle among the children and dogs. The 
men at least had the excitement of killing game and cutting 
bee trees. It was July, and the heat was intense. The only 
water obtainable was that of the sluggish river, which crept 
along between low banks thickly set with tall trees, trom the 
branches of which depended long streamers of Spanish moss 
swarming with mosquitoes and pregnant of malaria. Alligators, 
gaunt and grim — certainly the most hideous creatures God ever 
made — lay in wait among the moss and drift for any unwary 
creature who might come down to drink." 

A Wedding in Austin's Colony.* " They were a social peo- 
ple these old Three Hundred. . . . There were a number of 
weddings — during my sojourn — the most notable one perhaps 
being the marriage of Nicholas McNutt to Miss Cartwright. 
. . . There being no priest in the vicinity, Thomas Dukes, the 
"big" alcalde, was summoned from San Felipe. The alcalde tied 

* From Smithwick, " The Evolution of a State," pp. 39-40. 



ERA III] 



COLONIZATION 



83 



the nuptial knot in good American style, but the contracting par- 
ties had to sign a bond to avail themselves of the priest's services 
to legalize the marriage at the earliest opportunity. 

The first and most important number on the program be- 
ing duly carried out, the next thing in order was the wedding 




A Texas Gallant of 1830 

supper, which was the best the market afforded. That being 
disposed of, the floor was cleared for dancing. It mattered not 
that the floor was made of puncheons. When young folks 
danced in those days, they danced; they didn't glide around; 
they "shuffled" and "double shuffled," "wired" and "cut the 
pigeon's wing," making the splinters fly. There were some of 



84 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

the boys, however, who were not provided with shoes, and moc- 
casins were not adapted to that kind of a dancing floor and. more- 
over they couldn't make noise enough, but their more fortunate 
brethren were not at all selfish or disposed to put on airs, so, 
when they had danced a turn, they generously exchanged foot- 
gear with the moccasined contingent and gave them the ring, and 
we just literally kicked every splinter off that floor before 
morning." 

The Story of Some German Colonists. Frederick Ernst, 
a German book-keeper, emigrated to America and, when he heard 
of the generous land grants offered by the Mexican government, 
decided to settle in Texas. His daughter, Caroline von Hin- 
ueber, tells the following story.* 

" When my father came to Texas I was a child of eleven or 
twelve years. . . . We set sail fof Texas in the schooner 
Saltillo (Sal-teel'-yo). 

"The boat was jammed with passengers and their luggage so 
that you could hardly find a place on the floor to lie down at 
night. I firmly believe that a strong wind would have drowned 
us all. We landed at Harrisburg, which consisted at that time 
of about five or six log houses, on the 3d of April, 1831. Cap- 
tain Harris had a sawmill, and there was a store or two, I be- 
lieve. Here we remained five weeks, while Fordtran [a friend] 
went ahead of us and selected a league of land. . . . 

While on our way to our new home, we stayed at San Felipe 
for several days at Whiteside's Tavern. The courthouse was 
about a mile out of town, and here R. M. Williamson, who was 
then the alcalde, had his office. I saw him several times while I 
was there, and remember how I wondered at his crutch and 
wooden leg. S. F. Austin was in Mexico at the time, and Sam 
Williams, his private secretary, gave my father a title to land 
which he had originally picked out for himself. My father had 
to kiss the Bible and promise, as soon as the priest should ar- 
rive, to become a Catholic. . . . 

"My father was the first German to come to Texas with his 
family. He wrote a letter to a friend in Oldenburg, which was 

* From Texas Quarterly, II, 22-^. Translated from the German by 
Rudolph Kleberg, Jr. ' 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 85 

published in the local newspaper. This brought a number of 
Germans, with their families, to Texas in 1834. 

" After we had lived on Fordtran's place six months, we 
moved into our own house. This was a miserable little hut, cov- 
ered with straw and having six sides, which were made out of 
moss. The roof was by no means waterproof, and we often 
held an umbrella over our bed when it rained at night, while 
cows came and ate the moss. Of course we suffered a great 
deal in winter. My father tried to build a chimney and fireplace 
out of logs and clay, but we were afraid to light a fire be- 
cause of the extreme combustibility of our dwelling. So we had 
to shiver. 

" Our shoes gave out, and we had to go barefoot in winter, 
for we did not know how to make moccasins. Our supply of 
clothes was also insufficient, and we had no spinning wheel, 
nor did we know how to spin and weave like the Americans. 
It was twenty-eight miles to San Felipe, and, besides, we had 
no money. . . . 

" No one can imagine what a degree of want there was of 
the merest necessities, and it is difficult for me now to under- 
stand how we managed to live and get along under the cir- 
cumstances. We were really better supplied than our neighbors 
with household and farm utensils, but they knew better how to 
help themselves. Sutherland used his razor for cutting kindling, 
killing pigs, and cutting leather for moccasins. My mother was 
once called to a neighbor's house, five miles from us, because one 
of the little children was very sick. My mother slept on a deer 
skin, without a pillow, on the floor. In the morning, the lady 
of the house poured water over my mother's hands, and told her 
to dry her face on her bonnet. 

" At first we had very little to eat. We ate nothing but corn 
bread. Later we began to raise cow-peas, and afterwards my 
father made a fine vegetable garden. At first we grated our 
corn, until father hollowed out a log and we ground it as in a 
mortar. We had no cooking stove, of course, and baked our 
bread in the only skillet we possessed. The ripe corn was boiled 
until it was soft, then grated and baked. The nearest mill was 
thirty miles off. 

" The country was very thinly settled. Our three neighbors 
lived in a radius of seven miles. San Felipe was twenty-eight 



86 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

miles off, and there were about two houses on the road thither. 
In consequence, there was no market for anything you could 
raise, except for cigars and tobacco, which my father was the first 
in Texas to put on the market. We raised barely what we needed, 
and we kept it. Around San Felipe, certainly, it was different, 
and there were some beautiful farms in the vicinity. 

" We lived in our doorless and windowless six-cornered pa- 
vilion about three years." 

The Wacoes and the Tawacanies.* In July, 1824, Austin's 
colony was so annoyed by thieves among the Indians, that Col. 
Austin sent a committee to make a treaty with the red men. 
Mr. Kuykendall writes : " They took with them some goods to 
barter with the Indians for horses. They crossed the Brazos 
at the San Antonio road and proceeded up the river on the east 
side to the Tawacanie village — thence they crossed over to the 
Waco village — the site of the present town of Waco. They 
were well received by the Indians, who had recently re- 
turned from their summer buffalo hunt and were feasting on 
buffalo meat, green corn and beans. They also had pumpkins 
and melons. They dwelt in comfortable lodges, conical in 
shape, the frames of which were of cedar poles or slats and 
thatched with grass. The largest of these lodges (the coun- 
cil-housej was fifty-nine paces in circumference. The Wacoes 
and Tawacanies spoke the same language, and were essentially 
the same people. Judge D. thinks the two tribes Oould then 
number between Wo and three hundred warriors. They smoked 
the pipe of peace with the embassy and pledged themselves to 
peace and amity with the colonists. They had a great number of 
horses and mules. A small plug of tobacco was the price of a 
horse and a plug and a half that of a mule." 

The tricky Tonkewas.f "Austin . . . tried to induce 
the Tonkewas to cultivate the soil. He gave the chief, Carita, 
hoes and other farming implements and an ample supply of seed 
corn and Carita promised that his people should clear land in 
the Colorado bottom and plant corn. But with this promise 
he had, probably, no intention to comply. He made bread of the 
seed corn and after it was all consumed visited Austin and in- 

* From Texas Quarterly, January 1903, p. 249. Reminiscences of J. H. 
Kuykendal. 

t From Texas Quarterly, January 1903, p. 252. 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 87 

formed him that the Great Spirit had told the Tonkewas not to 
raise corn, but hunt as they had always been accustomed to do, 
and look to their white friends for the staff of life. Whereupon 
Austin informed him that he was inspired to say that the 
Tonkewas would starve if they did not go to work. The Tonke- 
was, however, never essayed to till the soil. 

" Carita . . . was a very shrewd Indian and quite sharp 
at driving a bargain. He was wont to say that if Austin would 
trade with him he could cheat him out of his Colony." 

A Mexican Don Surprised. * " The De Leons and other 
Mexicans of Victoria had large stocks of cattle near the coast. 
They charged the Carancawas (and probably with truth) with 
stealing their cattle, and one of them resolved to exterminate 
the Indians by means of poison. The person to whom he applied 
for the poison, divining his purpose, gave him cream of tartar 
instead of arsenic. A large quantity of boiled corn was the 
vehicle of this supposed poison. The savory hominy was char- 
itably distributed to the red men who took it to their camp and 
ate it. The next morning to the astonishment of the hospitable 
Don, the Carancawas presented themselves before him and 
begged for another supply of boiled corn ! " 

Kindness of Early Settlers, f " In the morning, we were 
received with open arms by the good people of Harrisburg. 
Father was very sick, and had to be carried. A Mrs. Brewster 
had him taken to her home. She was a widow. 

"Uncle James Wells went out to rent a house, but there was 
none vacant. There was not a dray nor a wagon in the place. 

A Mr. Andrew Robinson came to see father, and said he had a 
new house half a mile from town, which he could have. He 
said his old woman wanted to visit their son, Andrew, living at 
San Felipe. Mr. Lytle had a cart and one yoke of oxen, and 
he moved us. He wouldn't take pay for his work; said that 
was not the way in Texas. In the evening the men came with 
the cart for father and mother. When we got to the house, the 
kind ladies had sent meal, butter, eggs, milk, and honey, and 
had the house in order and supper ready." 

* From Texas Quarterly, January 1903, p. 253. 

t The extracts that follow are taken from the Reminiscences of Mrs. 
Dilue Harris, who as a child, came with her parents, Dr. and Mrs. P. W. 
Rose, to Texas. See Texas Quarterly, October 1900. 



88 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

Negroes Direct from Africa. " One cold day we could see 
in the direction of Galveston Bay a large crowd of people. 
They were coming to our house. Mother said they were In- 
dians, and we were badly frightened. Brother ran to the field 
for father and Uncle James. By the time they got to the house, 
the travelers were near. . Mother wanted to leave the house 
and go in the woods, but father said no. He said that probably 
they had been shipwrecked, as it was only thirty miles to the 
bay. When they got near the house, there were three white 
men and a large gang of negroes. One man came in and in- 
troduced himself as Ben Fort Smith. He said he lived neah 
Major Bingham's, and that he was lost and nearly starved. He 
asked father to let him have two beeves and some bread. 
Father told him that he did not own the cattle, but as it was a 
case of necessity, he would kill two beeves, and send for Mr. 
Dyer, the agent. Father killed the beeves and helped to skin 
them. One man made a fire near some trees, away from the 
house. As soon as the beeves were skinned the negroes acted 
like dogs, they were so hungry. With the help of father and 
uncle, the white men kept them off till the meat was broiled, 
and then did not let them have as much as they could eat. 
Father did not have bread for them. Mother prepared dinner 
for the white men. 

" After dinner, Mr. Smith explained to father how he came 
to be lost on the prairie. He said he had a plantation on the 
Brazos river near Major Bingham's. . . . The negroes were 
so enfeebled from close confinement that they could not travel. 
He rested one day, and would have reached home the next 
night if he had not got lost. He had been absent some time 
and did not know the Brazos river had overflowed . . . 

" Next morning, Mr. Smith asked father's permission to stay 
till he could send to his plantation for assistance. After three or 
four days, Mr. Smith's body servant, Mack, brought a wagon 
and team and clothing for the negroes. Mack made them go 
to the creek, and bathe. . . . After they were dressed, he 
marched them to the house for mother and us little girls to 
see. He tried to teach them to make a bow. They laughed 
and chattered like monkeys. They did not understand a word 
of English. All the men and boys in the neighborhood came to 
see the wild Africans." 



ERA III] COLONIZATION 89 

English Colonists, who Expected Much. "Ten families 
from England had just arrived in Texas. One woman, with her 
son and daughter, stopped at Harrisburg. She was a dress- 
maker and a milliner. She was very much disappointed, as she 
had brought a stock of millinery goods from New York with 
the expectation of finding Harrisburg a large city. Three fam- 
ilies of them came to our neighborhood. One man, Mr. Page, 
seemed to be the leader. 

" Mr. Page was a very smart man. He had a wife and a 
girl babe. They all appeared to be good people, but they were 
sadly out of place in Texas. They had elegant clothing, silver- 
ware and some fine furniture. Not one of them knew anything 
about farming or country life. They had all been reared in th< 
city of London." 

A Ball for Pretty Jane. " Two of the English families 
were named Adkins. One of the Mrs. Adkinses was a widow 
with a pretty daughter named Jane. Jane was lovely, dressed 
very fine, and could sing and play the guitar. The boys went 
crazy about her. Leo Roark and Harvey Stafford came to see 
mother to get her to give a ball, so they could get acquainted 
with the English beauty. She at first refused, but they teased 
and persuaded father till he said yes. The boys went from 
house to house inviting the people. Mother soon got things in 
order with help from the neighbors, and the happy day came. 
Harvey Stafford went to see the pretty Miss Adkins and offered 
to bring a horse and side saddle and escort her to the ball, but 
she could not ride. She had never rode a horse. There was 
nothing he could do but use the cart and oxen. Harvey Stafford 
had a negro man to drive. He and Mr. Adkins, three ladies 
and four children, came riding in the cart, sitting on common 
chairs with rawhide seats. After all the trouble the boys had, 
the young lady did not dance, but sang and played the guitar. 
. . . The pretty English girl was very much admired. She 
was dressed in blue silk, with artificial flowers in her hair. 
When daylight came, all went home wishing the night had been 
six months long." 

A Barbecue on the Fourth of July. " The Fourth of July 
was a fine day. The barbecue was near Mr. Dyer's house, and 



90 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

the quilting and ball were at the house. The ladies spent the 
day in conversation and work, the young people dancing in the 
yard, the children playing under the trees, and the men talking 
politics. There was no political speaking, as the Mexicans were 
present. . . . Three of the Mexicans ate dinner and were 
very sociable. One of them danced a Virginia reel, but the 
others could not dance anything but waltzes, and our young 
ladies did not waltz. 

" Well, it was a grand affair for the times. The young people 
thought it magnificent. The music was two fiddles, played turn 
about by three negro men. One man got an iron pin and clevis, 
used at the end of a cart tongue or plough beam, and beat time 
with the fiddles. Another man beat a tin pan. . . . The 
young people danced to that music from three o'clock in the even- 
ing till next morning, 

" Mother went home with her family before day. Everybody 
else stayed all night. We ate barbecued meat, all sorts of 
vegetables, coffee, fowls, potatoes, honey, and corn bread, but 
no cakes, as there was no flour in the country." 

A Vain Search for a Bible. " Mother said she had been 
in Texas nearly a year and had not heard a sermon. One young 
man said he had never heard a sermon. Mother asked Mr. 
Woodruff to preach. He agreed, but did not have a Bible. 
Mother's Bible was Ibst when we were shipwrecked the year be- 
fore. No one offered to. go for a Bible. Mr. Travis said he 
would send mother one if he could find it in San Felipe. Mr. 
Woodruff prayed and exhorted the people to lead pure lives. 
Mrs. Stafford and mother sang the hymn, ' On Jordan's Stormy 
Banks I Stand and Cast a Wistful Eye.' The preacher sang, 
* Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' . . . 

" Mr. Travis sent sister and me a Sunday school book. There 
had been a Sunday school in San Felipe, but it was closed by the 
Catholic priest. Father Muldoon. R. M. Williamson sent us side- 
combs. . . . Mr. Travis sent mother word that there was 
not a Bible for sale in San Felipe." 

A Private School. " Father, while in Harrisburg, engaged 
a school teacher, a Mr. David Henson. . . , 

" The next thing was a schoolhouse. There was a log house 



ERA III] COLONIZATION QI 

halfway between the place where we lived and Mr. Dyer's. It 
had been used for a blacksmith's shop. The floor was made 
of heavy hewed logs, called puncheons, and there were no win- 
dows nor any shutter to the door. Father and Mr. Henson 
canvassed the neighborhood to make up the school. . . . 
Brother and I were the only children that could read and write. 
" School commenced the first of June. We had a good teacher, 
but he was out of his proper place in Texas. There were but 
few schoolbooks among the people. The teacher made the mul- 
tiplication table upon pasteboard. Mother gave her handbox for 
the purpose." 



92 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 



I. Moses Austin. 



II. Stephen F. Austin. 



1. Resolves to settle in 
Texas. 

2. Trip to San Antonio. 
(1820). 

3. Reception and Harsh 
Treatment. 

4. Baron de Bastrop aids 
him in Securing Grant of 
Land. 

5. Death and Dying Request. 

:. Early Life and Character. 

!. Choice of Land." 

5. Inducements offered Col- 
onists. 

^. Settlement made. 

i. " The Lively." 

5. Successful trip to Mex- 
ico. 

'. Growth of Colony. 

). Later Contracts. 



III. De Witt's Colony. 



1. Location. 

2. James Kerr. 

3. Gonzales. 



IV. De Leon's Colony. 



V. Edwards's Colony. 



1. Location. 

2. Trouble with De Witt. 

1. Troubles — how caused. 

2. Disputed Elections. 

3. Edwards ordered to leave 
Texas. 

4. Fredonian Rebellion. Re- 
sults of Rebellion. 



VI. Texas as a Whole. 



1. Empresario System. 

2. Year of Immigration. 

3. Texas and Coahuila. 

4. Local Government. 

5. Indian Troubles. 

6. Character of Colonists. 

7. Growth. 



ERA IV 

ERA OF REVOLUTION 

(1830-1836) 

[For footnotes see page 314] 

Mexico Distrusts the United States. — The United 
States had sympathized with Mexico in her struggle to 
throw off Spanish rule, hence when the Republic was es- 
tablished Mexico felt kindly towards her Northern neigh- 
bors and, as we saw in the last era, welcomed them 
among her colonists. But the United States had never 
been satisfied to see Texas belong to Mexico. In 1825 
President John Ouincy Adams tried to gain a change in 
the treaty of 1819 enabling the United States to own 
at least a part of Texas ; but he tried in vain. In 1827 
we offered a million dollars for the country extending to 
the Rio Grande and half a million for the territory be- 
tween the Sabine and the Colorado: Mexico would not 
listen to either proposal. Still the United States per- 
sisted in making offers, all of which Mexico persisted in 
refusing. 

• Becoming suspicious — and she had a right so to be — 
Mexico reasoned thus : " Our neighbor Republic must 
have some important plan to carry out and Texas must 
be needed to accomplish this plan. We must watch 
closely, for we know only too well the Anglo-Saxon 
greed for territory. We have generously granted land 
to these people from the North : they have made their 
homes with us, but their hearts are with their native 

93 



94 MEXICAN OPPRESSION [1830 

country ; we are continually in the midst of revolutions, 
we realize our weak condition and they realize it also. 
They may conspire with the United States to take Texas 
from us. But, from this time, we shall be on our guard." 

Mexico a Republic in Name Only. — Mexico gained 
her independence from Spain in 1821. She became a re- 
public, and in 1824 adopted a Constitution somewhat like 
ours. Her people, however, were not free. They did not 
know how to govern themselves. They were not to blame 
for this, because they had never had an opportunity to 
learn or to practice self-government. Their Presidents 
were for the most part selfish schemers, who cared only 
for wealth and power. At the beginning of this era 
Bustamente was President, but in 1832 Santa Anna led a 
revolution against him. From 1833 Santa Anna was the 
real power in Mexico ; with him Texas had to deal. 

General Causes of Texas Revolution. — With the 
Mexicans and American colonists full of distrust for each 
other, trouble was sure to come. While the revolution is 
said to have begun in 1835, wise men saw the clouds 
gathering years before. Most briefly stated, the general 
causes of the revolution were : 

1. The Mexican Law of 1830, making it almost im- 
possible for other Americans to come to Texas. 

2. Order to settle Mexican convicts in Texas. 

3. Forcing Texas to be joined to the Mexican state; 
Coahuila. 

4. Collecting duty on all goods not bought in Mexico. 

5. Placing groups of Mexican soldiers to watch the 
Texans. 

6. Lack of sympathy between Texans and Mexicans. 

[Note to Teachers. — The author suggests that very young 
pupils or those classes pressed for time omit or simply read from 
page 95 to topic marked "Review," page iii.] 



ERA IVJ REVOLUTION 95 

DISCUSSION OF "general CAUSES OF TEXAS REVOLUTION" 

(i) Decree of 1830 — Lucas Alaman, a member of 
Bnstamente's Cabinet, suggested a plan for making 
stronger the Mexican hold on Texas. As a result of this 
plan, the famous law of 1830 was passed April 6th. 

a. It forbade colonists from countries touching Mexico 
settling in Texas anywhere near their own border; it 
also ordered the establishment of Mexican colonies. 

b. It suspended all land contracts for colonies not al- 
ready established. 

c. It prevented any foreigner entering Texas from the 
North unless he had a passport from a Mexican consular 
agent in his own country. 

d. It permitted Texans to hold the slaves they had in 
1830, but prohibited more slaves being brought in. 

While this decree seemed to apply to every nation, yet 
in reality it was aimed at the United States. Other na- 
tions were welcomed, but for the United States, whose 
inhabitants had changed Texas from a wilderness into a 
civilized state, Mexico had nothing but suspicion. As the 
colonists had friends and relatives in the United States 
who wished to join them, and as many of these had sold 
their old homes and were even at that very time on their 
way to Texas, the news of the decree spread gloom over 
all sections of the province. It must not be forgotten 
that the Fredonian Rebellion had done much to alarm the 
Mexicans and bring about this decree. 

(2) Settlement of Convicts. — Laws were passed by 
the Mexican Congress relative to settling in Texas col- 
onies of convicts and deserters. Nothing would have 
destroyed more quickly and more certainly the prosperity 
of the province. 

(3) Union with Coahuila (co-a-wee'-la). It was 
shown in the last era that Texas was not a separate state 



96 MEXICAN OPPRESSION [1830 

of the Mexican Republic, but had been joined to Coa- 
huila. The Texans were promised that this union should 
last only till their state grew strong enough to justify 
a separate government. The colonists claimed that time 
had now come. Mexico heeded not their claim, fearing 
separation from Coahuila would be a first step toward 
independence. 

(4) Taxes and Gustoms Houses. — To induce for- 
eigners to settle in Texas, Mexico had promised that for 
a term of years they should be free from taxation, and 
should have the privilege of importing without duty all 
supplies really needed for their own use. This time had 
now expired ; taxes were levied and custom houses es- 
tablished. Had this been all, the colonists would have 
had no cause to complain, for the taxes in themselves 
were not unreasonable, but we shall see that Mexico 
made the collection of taxes and duties disagreeable and 
humiliating. The colonists were not free from blame in 
this matter. Not content with the liberal allowance made 
them by the early colonization laws, some of the Amer- 
icans had made a practice of smuggling luxuries and 
articles for sale. 

(5) Military Occupation. — To collect these taxes 
and to see that the laws were obeyed, bodies of Mexican 
troops under General Teran were sent into Texas. Some 
twelve military posts were established.^ These soldiers 
were to be supported from the taxes and duties paid by 
the people. The colonists felt that there was no need of 
a military force to collect taxes, and that the expense of 
keeping up such a body of men was unnecessary. To 
make matters worse, some of the soldiers sent into Texas 
were convicts and desperadoes whose insolent behavior 
was often unendurable. On the slightest pretext the 
Mexican officers declared the country under martial law. 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 97 

Innocent men were arrested and imprisoned without 
knowing the crime with which they were charged. 

(6) No Sympathy Between Races. — The strongest 
cause in bringing on the Texas Revolution, however, was 
the entire lack of sympathy between the Mexican people 
and the Anglo-Saxon colonists. They could not under- 
stand our methods of government and we could not en- 
dure their idea of a republic. ^ 

Captain Bradburn Makes Trouble. — No one at this 
date did more to stir up bitter feelings between the col- 
onists and the Mexicans than Captain John Davis Brad- 
burn, a Kentuckian by birth, who had gone to Mexico 
with Mina and remained in the service of the Mexican 
government. General Teran placed him in charge of 
Anahuac (a-na-wak'), a port on Galveston Bay, through 
which Austin's colony obtained some of their supplies. 
In 1 83 1, Letona was elected governor of Coahuila and 
Texas. Letona, relying upon the state colonization law 
of 1825, ordered that land titles be granted to colonists 
already in Texas before 1830. According to the gover- 
nor's instructions, the town of Liberty near Anahuac 
was established and a regular colony organized. This 
displeased General Teran ; he, declaring that the decree 
of April 6, 1830 was being disobeyed, ordered Brad- 
burn to arrest and imprison the two officers ( Madero and 
Carbajal) sent out by Governor Letona as commissioner 
and surveyor. Bradburn seemed to take pleasure in 
carrying out Teran's commands ; he also abolished the 
town government established at Liberty and took upon 
himself the right to distribute lands ; he paid no attention 
to the civil authorities and treated the people with con- 
tempt. 

Blockade. — When the colonists complained, Bradburn 
commanded all the ports except Anahuac to be closed. 



98 



BRADBURN'S FOLLY 



[1832 



This harbor was so situated that only small vessels could 
enter; hence Bradburn's order really amounted to a 
blockade. 

Texans Protest. — Determined that they would sub- 
mit to no such tyranny, 
^li^ the Texans met (Dec, 

F^ % 1 831), at Brazoria, to 

ij|| fPfc* discuss public affairs. 

After mature delibera- 
tion, Dr. Branch T. 
Archer ^ and George B. 
McKinstry were sent to 
ask Bradburn to revoke 
his order and to open the 
ports. Bradburn replied 
that he must have time 
to lay the matter before 
Teran, his superior offi- 
cer. But when he was 
told the colonists would brook no delay, he was afraid 
to refuse and Brazoria was opened. 

Arrest of Travis and Others. — Bradburn, however, 
learned no lesson from this episode. He declared (May, 
1832) the ten leagues of coast land formerly reserved 
for government use to be under martial law. Hardly 
had the people realized this new offense when he arrested 
several colonists (among whom was William B. Travis), 
imprisoned them in the fort, and treated them as common 
criminals. The Texans demanded the release of their 
comrades, saying : " If these men have committed 
crimes they should be tried by civil and not by military 
law." Bradburn refused to release the prisoners. 

Troubles at Anahuac. — Indignation among the col- 




Branch T. Archer 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 99 

onists rose high. Settlers on the Trinity and others from 
Austin's colony under the command of F. W. Johnson, 
took up arms and hastened to Anahuac, determined to 
rescue their friends. They were joined by John Austin,* 
the brave alcalde of Brazoria, and a small but courageous 
body of men. Having captured some of Bradburn's sol- 
diers, the colonists again demanded the release of the 
prisoners. Bradburn v^ould not yield, but finally saved 
himself from battle by promising to exchange the col- 
onists for his soldiers held captive by the Americans, 
provided the Americans v^ould first retire six miles. His 
proposition was accepted and his men were promptly re- 
turned, but, to the amazement of the colonists, he refused 
to give up his prisoners. The colonists were filled with 
indignation, yet, knowing it would be impossible to cap- 
ture Anahuac without cannon, they decided not to attack 
the fort but to remain at Turtle Bayou until artillery 
could be brought from Brazoria. 

Turtle Bayou Resolutions. — The Americans knew 
Mexico would be angry at their trouble with Bradburn. 
To prevent an army being quartered upon them, they 
drew up Resolutions at Turtle Bayou. (June 13, 1832.) 
These Resolutions complained of their treatment, but 
stated they were loyal to Mexico. As Santa Anna was 
then leading a revolution, and as the colonists felt sure 
he would succeed, they denounced Bustamente, but de- 
clared they would give their lives and their fortunes, if 
necessary, to support the Mexican Constitution of 1824 
and "the patriot, Santa Anna."^ 

Piedras Quiets Affairs. — About this time by order of 
General Teran, Colonel Piedras (pe-a'-dras) of Nacog- 
doches came to Anahuac. On hearing both sides of the 
trouble, he turned over the American prisoners to the 



100 AFFAIR AT VELASCO [1832 

civil officers, who declared them innocent and set them 
free. Bradbnrn was removed from office, and the col- 
onists hastened home to lay down the sword and to take 
lip the plow. 

Crpture of Velasco. — (June 27, 1832). Going back 
a little, we find John Austin in command of the men sent 
to Brazoria for cannon. They reached Brazoria, obtained 
the cannon, and took them down the Brazos, but Ugar- 
techea (00-gar ta-che'-a), the Mexican officer in com- 
mand at Velasco, refused to allow the schooner bearing 
the cannon to pass his fort. By no means discouraged, 
the Americans decided to capture Velasco and then 
hasten on to Anahuac. Marching down the east bank of 
the Brazos, Austin, with perhaps one hundred and twelve 
men, halted for a few days and offered to treat with 
Uf^artechea ; this offer being refused, Austin prepared for 
battle. During the night the schooner containing the 
cannon dropped down the river to a point near the fort ; 
a barricade of cotton bales protected the keen-eyed marks- 
men who, under Captain William Russel, were to do 
valiant service. Austin and his assistant. Captain Henry 
S. Brown, marched their troops in two separate divisions 
to positions near the fort. Brown's men being shielded 
by a mass of drift logs, while in the darkness Austin's 
men quickly erected for their shelter a palisade. When 
morning came the guns in the fort opened fire, and 
bravely was the fire returned. The cannon of the fort 
was so mounted that in firing upon the foe the heads of 
the Mexicans were exposed, hence the shots of the Amer- 
icans did awful execution. The palisade proving worth- 
less, Austin's men rushed for protection to the sides of 
the fort and made for themselves pits in the sand, but all 
this time the guns never ceased. The schooner poured 
out a constant volley. The Mexicans tried to shoot 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION lOI 

without exposing their heads by raising their hands over 
the battlement, but shattered wrists, bleeding arms, and 
mangled hands still bore evidence to the unerring marks- 
manship of the Americans. Ugartechea fought bravely; 
when his men shrank from firing the cannon, he himself 
took the gunners' places, and so much did the colonists 
admire his action that not one shot was directed his way. 
After several hours' conflict, the Mexican loss being 
heavy, Ugartechea surrendered with the honors of war. 
The colonists so appreciated the bravery of the Mexicans 
that they gave them provisions for their march to Mata- 
moras and cared for their woimded. After the battle 
Austin and his men, learning that matters at Anahuac 
had been peacefully settled, gladly returned home. 

Colonel MejiVs Visit. — Led by alarming news of re- 
bellion in Texas, Colonel Jose Antonio Mejia (ma-he'-a) 
came (July, 1832) from Mexico with a strong force to 
investigate conditions. At this time Stephen F. Austin 
was in attendance upon the Congress of Coahuila and 
Texas, of which body he was a member. Congress ad- 
journing to meet again in the fall, Austin decided to 
visit the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Internal 
Provinces, who was then in Tamaulipas (ta-maw-le'- 
pas). When he reached Victoria (the capital of Ta- 
maulipas) he heard of the disturbances in Texas and that 
Colonel Mejia had started to the mouth of the Brazos 
River. Led by a sense of duty to his people, Austin 
changed his plans and started for Matamoras, where he 
joined Colonel Mejia and accompanied him to Texas. 
The Mexican commander learned from Austin much in 
favor of the American colonists ; on visiting Brazoria, 
San Felipe, and other settlements, Mejia was heartily 
welcomed, and was fully convinced that the Texans were 
true to the Mexican Constitution and especially devoted 



102 SURRENDER OF PIEDRAS [1832 

to the cause of Santa Anna. Mejia himself was firmly 
attached to Santa Anna's party. Feeling that all was 
safe in Texas, he soon returned to Mexico, taking with 
him many of the Mexican troops who had declared for 
Santa Anna. 

Piedras Forced Out. — So great had been the influ- 
ence of Mejia throughout Texas that Piedras of Nacog- 
doches was the only Mexican officer left in the State who 
was opposed to Santa Anna. The colonists decided to 
force Piedras to declare for Santa Anna or to retire into 
Mexico: a small force stated their terms and asked him 
to yield. He refused, though his under-officers wished 
him to go over to the Santa Anna cause. The Texans 
then attacked the Mexicans, forced them to retreat to- 
ward Angelina River and closely pursued them. Pie- 
dras, seeing that there was no hope for him to succeed, 
resigned his command to the second officer, who at once 
shouted amid the cheers of the soldiers, '' Long live 
Santa Anna ! '^ and surrendered to the colonists. The 
Texans allowed Piedras to return to Mexico. So nu- 
merous were the calls for troops in Mexico that by the 
close of August few soldiers were left in Texas. 

The Course of Santa Anna.<^— To understand clearly 
what follows it is necessary to note with care the course 
of Santa Anna who was at this time the idol of the 
Mexican people. As has already been stated, in January, 
1832, Santa Anna pronounced against Bustamante and 
declared in favor of the Constitution of 1824. As usual 
a resolution ensued, Bustamante striving to maintain 
his power, Santa Anna doing all he could to overthrow 
Bustamante. Santa Anna played the part of patriot to 
perfection ; he took up the cause of the common people, 
loudly publishing his determination to give even his 
life, if need be, to maintain the republic and to bring 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 103 

freedom to all classes. The colonists in Texas were de- 
lighted at the position taken by Santa Anna ; they thought 
him sincere, and pledged to him their hearty support, 
as we have seen from the " Turtle Bayou Resolutions." 
Santa Anna and Bustamante Compromise. — Busta- 
mante, having suffered many reverses, and especially 
feeling the loss of Teran (who had committed suicide), 
late in 1832 offered to come to terms with Santa Anna. 
The two generals agreed to compromise matters by plac- 
ing in the president's chair Pedraza, who had been elected 
president in 1828; accordingly in December Pedraza was 
installed. His term was to last only till April 1833 and 
he and all his officers were made to take an oath to sup- 
port the Constitution of 1824. This action on the part 
of Santa Anna surprised many of his friends, who did 
not see how he could on such terms make peace with the 
tyrant Bustamante, or how he, the champion of liberty, 
could call back to office such an aristocrat as Pedraza. 
In reply to these murmurs, Santa Anna answered that he 
had acted for the best, that Mexico needed peace, and 
that time would bring all things right. 

FIRST CONVENTION AT SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN 

How the Colonists Reasoned. — After Piedras left 
Texas the time seemed favorable to the colonists for 
asking certain favors. They thought : " Santa Anna 
is now the leading spirit of the Mexican government. 
We have shown again and again that we are his friends 
and supporters; Mejia has promised to make a favor- 
able report concerning us ; we have forced Piedras, the 
friend of Bustamente, to leave the State ; since these 
things are true we may reasonably expect kindness from 
the hands of Santa Anna. Matters are so unsettled that 



104 FIRST CONVENTION [1832 

we must come to some understanding with Mexico re- 
garding our future." 

The Convention Meets. — A call to the people of 
Texas was sent out bidding them to meet in convention 
at San Felipe October i, 1832 to discuss matters of pub- 
He interest. Over fifty delegates selected from the dif- 
ferent districts, Bexar being the only important one not 
represented, met in the first convention chosen by the 
people ever held on Texas soil. Stephen F. Austin was 
elected president, and F. W. Johnson, secretary. 

Work of Convention. — For six days the delegates 
worked diligently. The most important results of their 
labors were : 

(i) A memorial (written by William H. Wharton) ^ 
to the Mexican Government asking for the repeal of 
Article XI of the law forbidding inhabitants of the United 
States to settle in Texas, and denying that the colonists 
had any desire for independence from Mexico. 

(2) The recommendation to the Mexican Government 
that Texas and Coahuila be separated into two distinct 
States. 

(3) The petition that for three years such articles as 
were absolutely necessary to the colonists might be 
brought into Texas free of duty.^ 

(4) A Central Committee was appointed with head- 
quarters at San Felipe (F. W. Johnson, Chairman; Dr. 
James B. Miller, Secretary), whose duty it was to keep 
the colonists informed on public matters and, if necessary, 
to call another convention. 

(5) Sub-committees were ordered to be elected 
throughout Texas ; it was their duty to collect and make 
public all important news, to correspond with the Central 
Committee, to aid in carrying into effect all orders of the 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 105 

Central Committee and to strengthen the bond of union 
among the colonies. 

(6) It was decided that all men between the ages of 
sixteen and fifty capable of bearing arms should be en- 
rolled and organized into companies. 

Mexican Opposition to Conventions. — The Mexican 
officials seemed to look upon the convention as treason- 
able, claiming that all such meetings were sure to lead to 
revolution ; some of them advised Austin to take no part 
in the matter, but he answered : " Texas is lost if she 
does nothing for herself. I must follow the dictates of 
my conscience." ^ Even Santa Anna, who had received 
such hearty support from the colonists, said he felt that 
Texas aimed at nothing less than independence.^^ He 
advised that General Filisola be sent into Texas with a 
large force of soldiers. 

SECOND CONVENTION AT SAN FELIPE DE AUSTIN 

The colonists finding that no attention was paid to 
their petitions, grew more bitter in their feelings towards 
Mexico. In January, 1833, Santa Anna was elected 
President. The Texans decided to make their appeals 
directly to the new authorities. April i, 1833, the dele- 
gates elected to a second convention met at San Felipe; 
William H. Wharton was made president, and Thomas 
Hastings, secretary.^i Among the delegates to the Con- 
vention were men whose names were soon to be written 
upon the hearts of their countrymen, such as Stephen F. 
Austin, Sam Houston and David G. Burnet.^ 2 

The Memorial. — Besides several less important re- 
quests, the Convention asked for the repeal of Art. XL 
of the decree of 1830 and for the creation of Texas as a 



I06 SECOND CONVENTION [1833 

separate state in the Mexican Republic. A committee, 
with David G. Burnet as chairman, prepared a memorial 
to the Mexican government, showing why Texas should 
be separated from Coahuila. The following reasons were 
given: i. Coahuila and Texas differed in soil, climate, 
productions, interests, and population; hence laws suit- 
able for one would be injurious to the other. 2. The 
wilderness between the two States kept Texas from re- 
ceiving prompt aid from the troops who were stationed 
at the capital of Coahuila ; if Texas were a separate 
State, she could have her own troops. 3. The laws that 
governed Texas were in a foreign language. 4. The 
courts and officers were six hundred miles distant ; hence 
months and sometimes years passed before a trial could 
be obtained. 

A Constitution For Texas. — The most important 
work done by the Convention was the adoption of a 
State Constitution. Sam Houston, who had only a few 
months before come to Texas and settled in Nacogdo- 
ciies, was the chairman of the committee that drew up 
the Constitution for Texas as one of the states of the 
Mexican Republic. This document granted trial by jury, 
writs of habeas corpus, freedom of the press, the right 
to petition, and direct suffrage. In many respects it re- 
sembled the Constitutions of Tennessee and Missouri. 
It was to be submitted to the Mexican government for 
approval. 

Commissioners. — Stephen F. Austin, W. H. Whar- 
ton, and J. B. Miller 12 were appointed to present the 
memorial to the National Congress of Mexico and press 
the claims of Texas. Austin alone went, paying all his 
own expenses. He felt that the colonists were unwise 
in pressing their claims just at this time, but when they 
decided so to do, he was great enough to lay aside all 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 107 

personal feelings and make any sacrifice to serve his 
people. 

Political Parties in Mexico. — There were in Mexico 
two political parties ; the Republicans favored such a gov- 
ernment as ours, where the president has limited powers, 
where the states have certain rights with which congress 
cannot interfere ; the Centralists believed in what they 
called a " strong government," where the president and 
congress possessed almost absolute authority. 

Santa Anna's Plans. — Santa Anna had been elected 
president by the Republican party, but no sooner was he 
installed in office that he began secretly to plot to make 
himself supreme ruler. He left the capital, thus throw- 
ing the management of affairs upon the vice-president, 
Manuel Gomez Farias (fa-re'-as) a Republican. Farias 
was not slow to introduce reforms that both he and 
Santa Anna had promised the people, reforms that the 
President knew would arouse bitter opposition in the 
church and army. The result was just what Santa Anna 
expected; Farias became an object of hatred to the 
church and to the soldiers, but he, the President, was 
exempt from all blame. In May (1833) Santa Anna re- 
turned to the City of Mexico and resumed his office. 
After a few weeks General Duran (who was probably 
a mere tool of Santa Anna) raised a grito and then 
pronounced for a central government, demanding that 
the President come to their aid and thus save the church 
and the army from ruin. Santa Anna acted his part 
well ; he pretended to be angry at the '' outrageous in- 
solence " of Duran and his soldiers ; he led an army 
against Duran, but, he appointed, strange to say, as his 
second officer General Arista who was an open supporter 
of the Central party. While on the march Arista de- 
clared himself in favor of all Duran's plans, and was 



I08 SANTA ANNA AND FARIAS [1833 

supported by the soldiers. Santa Anna was made pris- 
oner by his own men, who at the same time pubHshed 
to the nation that he and he alone must be made, not 
president, but dictator of Mexico. Santa Anna was only 
too willing to remain a prisoner, for h^e felt sure the 
army in the City of Mexico would also declare him dic- 
tator and raise a revolution in his favor. 

Farias Prevents Dictatorship. — He had, however, 
not properly estimated the strength of Farias, who, like 
the stern Romans of old, determined to do his duty even 
if he perished in the attempt. Suspecting the treachery 
of the President, Farias, aided by De Zavala, raised a 
strong army of special troops. When the soldiers in 
the city proclaimed Santa Anna dictator, Farias declared 
them rebels against the Constitution, which forbade the 
existence of such an office as dictator, and quickly sub- 
dued them. On learning this Santa Anna changed his 
tactics ; he escaped from Arista, and hurried to the 
capital, took the reins of government, vowed his devotion 
to liberty, conquered the rebels (October 8), and did 
not punish them severely. In December, on the plea of 
ill health, he again turned over the government to Farias, 
and retired to his country seat, where he secretly carried 
out his schemes. 

Austin in Mexico. — From the preceding topics it 
will be clearly seen that when Austin reached the Mexi- 
can capital (June or early in July, 1833), he found the 
citv in the greatest confusion. He stated his cause, but 
was told that Vice-President Farias and his counselors 
had more important subjects to consider; Texas must 
bide her time. To add horror to Austin's gloom, Asiatic 
cholera broke out and swept into the grave thousands 
of the city's inhabitants. In spite of disease, discourage- 
ment, and failure, Austin heroically remained at his post. 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



109 



Through the assistance of that warm-hearted patriot, 
Lorenzo De Zavala/^ he secured the promise of the 
repeal of Article XI. of the famous edict but for the 
other requests of his people he could gain nothing. In 
his interview with Farias, Austin showed in strong terms 
that if Mexico did not permit Texas a state government 
separate from Coahuila, it was probable that Texas would 
take the matter into her 
own hands. Such lan- 
guage displeased Farias, 
and bore for Austin bit- 
ter fruit. 

Austin Imprisoned. — 
Worn out by waiting 
(Oct. 2, 1833), Austin 
wrote the city authorities 
at San Antonio, advising 
that the Texans shouh 
peacefully, and with all 
due respect to the Mex- 
ican law, make prepara- 
tions for a distinct state 
government. In Decem- 
ber, h e started home. 
About this time his let- 
ter, which was deemed treasonable by the San Antonio 
officials, was sent to Vice-President Farias. Remember- 
ing the independent spirit Austin had shown in their in- 
terviews, Farias, angered by the contents of the letter, or- 
dered the arrest of Austin at Saltillo. February 13, 1834, 
the great empresario was brought back to Mexico as a 
traitor, and lodged in the prison of the Old Inquisition, 
where for three months he was, during much of the time, 
deprived of writing-materials, books, communication with 




Lorenzo De Zavala 



no AUSTIN IN MEXICO [1834 

friends, and even the light of day. He was then removed 
to a larger prison, and allowed more liberty .^^ He asked 
again and again for a trial, but in vain. 

Santa Anna and Austin. — In the spring of 1834 
Santa Anna resumed his duties as president. Some time 
later he called a council to consider public matters in 
Texas. This council was composed of De Zavala, Aus- 
tin, who was still a prisoner, three members of the Con- 
gress of Coahuila and Texas and seven Mexican state 
officials. With earnest eloquence, Austin, aided by De 
Zavala, pleaded for his people; especially did he urge 
upon Santa Anna the necessity for separating Texas 
from Coahuila, but in this point he was bitterly opposed 
by the three Congressmen. After listening to all that 
was said, Santa Anna announced as his decision that he 
would approve the repeal of Article XL of the edict of 
1830, that a regular mail-system should be established in 
Texas, and that four thousand troops should be stationed 
at Bexar for the protection of the country. Here Austin 
assured the President that Texas had no need for these 
Mexican troops; that, if Mexico would only permit, 
Texas would pay her taxes and duties and guard her 
frontier without cost to the central government. Santa 
Anna overruled his suggestion by saying the troops were 
needed and must go; he also added that as Texas did 
not possess the required population or the necessary 
strength she could not be made a separate State. Austin 
was still kept a prisoner, though he was granted bail: 
no trial was given him. In spite of this injustice, Aus- 
tin, ever ready to look for good in others, still had faith 
in Santa Anna. He wrote his people: "All is going 
well. The President, General Santa Anna, has solemnly 
and publicly declared that he will sustain the federal 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



III 



representative system, as it now exists, and he will be 
sustained by all parties." 

Review. — It may be well, before going further, briefly 
to review events up to 1834. Bradburn, an officer in the 










Mexican Army, closed all Texas ports except one. He 
imprisoned, without trial, some colonists. The Texans 
attacked him at Anahuac. While waiting for cannon 



112 SANTA ANNA'S SCHEMES [1834 

they adopted Resolutions showing they were loyal to 
Mexico and friendly to Santa Anna, who was leading a 
revolution. Bradburn was removed. In the meantime, 
the men who had gone to Brazoria for cannon had trouble 
with the Mexicans and won the battle of Velasco. 

Colonel Mejia visited Texas and took back a favorable 
account. Troops were recalled to Mexico. The close of 
1832 saw the Texans left nearly to themselves. They 
held two conventions at San Felipe, asking especially that 
part of the Decree of 1830 be repealed and that Texas be 
separated from Coahuila. Stephen F. Austin was sent to 
Mexico to press these claims. The Decree was altered, 
but Texas was forced to remain a part of Coahuila. 
Austin was imprisoned (February, 1834) as a traitor. 
All this time the feeling between the Texans and Mexi- 
cans 'became more bitter. Mexico did not intend to be 
cruel and unjust. She was doing only what seemed to 
her to be necessary to retain Texas, but, in fact, she was 
driving Texas straight into revolution. 

Santa Anna, the Dictator. — The capital of Coahuila 
was moved from Saltillo to Monclova ; this^.caused a revo- 
lution and the Texans, who looked on in disgust, longed 
more than ever to be free from Coahuila, but finally 
Santa Anna decided that the capital should remiin at 
Monclova and forced the people to yield. In April, 1834, 
Santa Anna made himself virtually the absolute ruler of 
Mexico ; the Constitution of 1824 was a thing of the past. 
Under his orders the State governments were abolished 
and all Mexico, with the exception of Zacatecas, Coahuila 
and Texas, without a struggle, lay at the Dictator's mercy. 
Knowing that Texas was settled by a superior chss of 
men, and wishing to have them on his side, he called the 
Council mentioned above. It is supposed that he held 
Austin as a hostage for the good behavior of the Texans. 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION II3 

IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF TEXAS REVOLUTION 

Santa Anna's Plans. — During the latter part of 1834 
Santa Anna learned that Texas would not submit to his 
absolute rule. He decided to send a strong force of 
soldiers to Texas and also to show no mercy to the leaders 
of rebellion. His first attempt to carry out these plans 
proved to be the spark that was needed to set ablaze the 
smoldering fires of the Texas Revolution. 

THE YEAR 1835 

A Gloomy Outlook. — Dark indeed was the outlook 
for Texas during the year of 1835. When the State 
governments were abolished, Texas fell under military 
rule. The order was issued to reduce the militia of each 
State to only one man for every five hundred inhabitants. 
The fate of Zacatecas warned Texas what she, at no 
distant day, might expect unless she yielded to the ty- 
rannies of Santa Anna. Zacatecas, one of the richest 
mining States in Mexico, was noted for its Hberty-lov- 
ing people ; when these people refused to receive a dic- 
tator, and opposed the destruction of the Constitution of 
1824, Santa Anna marched against and defeated them 
(May 10, 1835), with terrible slaughter; the cruel sol- 
diers inflicted untold suffering upon the helpless populace. 

Committees of Safety. — During the spring and sum- 
mer the colonists held meetings and appointed commit- 
tees of safety, that were to take charge of public mat- 
ters and keep the different sections of the State informed 
as to the course of Mexico. They made arrangements 
for a general consultation of delegates. 

War and Peace Parties. — There had been since 1832 
two distinct parties among the colonists : — the war party 
of .which William B. Tr&yis and William H, Wharton 



114 TROUBLES AT ANAHUAC [1835 

were leaders, wanted Texas to declare her independence 
and take up arms ; the peace party, of which Austin had 
been the leading spirit, advised patience and forbearance. 
We have seen how the peace party ruled in the first 
convention at San Felipe, when Austin was made Presi- 
dent, but by April, 1833, the war party had grown strong 
enough to defeat Austin and to elect Wharton President 
of the second convention. 



MILITARY CAMPAIGN OF 1835 

Troubles at Anahuac. — When the year opened there 
were one company of Mexican soldiers at Goliad and two 
at San Antonio. In January soldiers were ordered to 
Anahuac, and it was rumored that more were to follow. 
Some of the colonists, claiming that the taxes collected at 
Anahuac (a-na-wak') were unjust, and the behavior of 
the garrison insolent, mustered a force of men under the 
command of Captain William B. Travis, and drove out 
the Mexicans. The Texans themselves were divided as to 
the wisdom of this act, for they knew every circumstance 
would be reported promptly to Santa Anna's officers, 
thus increasing the prejudice already felt toward the 
Americans. 

Order for Arrest of Texans. — Lorenzo De Zavala, 
on finding that Santa Anna was false to his promises to 
sustain the liberties of the Republic of Mexico, left the 
services of the government and retired to his lands on the 
San Jacinto River. Orders soon came for the arrest of 
De Zavala, Travis and other Texans. That the dictator 
Santa Anna and his subordinates believed De Zavala and 
the Texans would be surrendered shows clearly they had 
yet much to learn of the colonists who, descended from 
Puritan and Cavalier, had been taught as a first lesson of 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 1 15 

manhood to be true to a friend in need. The officials 
were told that the persons they were seeking had left for 
the United States, and could not be taken to Mexico for 
military trial, as ordered. 

Austin's Return.^ — On August 31, Austin, having been 
released from his long imprisonment, returned home after 
an absence of two years. ^^ His reception was such as to 
have touched the coldest heart. Old friends gathered 
about him ; tears and sobs mingled with smiles of wel- 
come. Austin was deeply moved. At Brazoria one thou- 
sand people gathered September 8 to welcome him. All 
turned to him for advice. He approved the committees 
of safety and the plan for a general consultation. ^^ 

Troops Sent IntoTexas. — Santa Anna ordered to San 
Antonio a large force of soldiers under his brother-in-law. 
General Cos [Coss]. It was rumored: "General Cos, with 
his troops, intends to overrun Texas, to establish cus- 
tom-houses, and detachments of his army where he thinks 
proper, to disarm the people, to drive out all Americans 
who have come to Texas since 1830, and to punish those 
who have insulted the supreme government of Mexico 
and refused obedience to its laws." The colonists at last 
saw Santa Anna in his true light. Both war and peace 
parties united to urge the Texans to collect arms and 
ammunition and prepare for the struggle that might come. 

Skirmish at Gonzales. — There was at Gonzales a 
small brass cannon that had been given the Texans some 
years before to protect the town from the Indians. The 
Mexican commander at Bexar, Ugartechea, sent a mes- 
sage demanding its surrender. The Texans refused. A 
Mexican officer was ordered to advance with about one 
hundred men against Gonzales. He was to command 
the alcalde to give up the cannon ; if the alcalde did not 
obey, force was to be used. When the Mexicans reached 



Il6 THE RISING [1835 

the banks of the Guadahipe, just opposite the town, they 
found that the ferry-boat had been taken to the other 
side. To cross was dangerous, for a company of armed 
Texans under Captain Albert Martin was keeping guard 
over the ferry; hence the Mexicans encamped a short 
distance from the ferry. As the colonists had only a 
small squad of men at Gonzales when the messenger 
came to the alcalde demanding the cannon, the Texans 
asked for time to consider the matter. This was Sep- 
tember 29. Couriers were sent through the country to 
give the alarm. As in 1775 the brave minute-men left 
their plows, seized their muskets and hastened to Lex- 
ington, so now the colonists hurried to Gonzales. After 
a force of perhaps one hundred and sixty-eight men 
had assembled (John M. Moore being the commander), 
the Texans sent word that they would not give up the 
cannon. The enemy had moved some miles away and 
remained in camp.^^ On October 2 the Texans attacked 
and utterly routed the Mexicans. No sooner had the 
little brass cannon roared than the Mexicans fled towards 
Bexar. Our men were left in possession of the field. 
Not a Texan was injured, while the Mexicans lost sev- 
eral killed and wounded. 

Effects of the Victory. — The whole country was 
aroused. Even those men who up to this time showed 
little interest in public affairs awoke to the importance 
of decided action, for all parties now realized that war 
was inevitable. Houston was made commander of all 
forces to be raised in Eastern Texas. Austin was unani- 
mously elected co'mmander-in-chief of the volunteer 
troops assembled at Gonzales. De Zavala came from 
his secluded retreat to offer aid to the patriot cause. 
Austin issued a ringing appeal for volunteers, to which 
men from the highest an4 from the humblest walks of 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 117 

life responded. There was many a Putnam who left his 
plow in the furrow, snatched his gun, and with a hurried 
" God keep you " to wife and children rushed away to 
obey his country's call. An appeal for aid was made to 
the United States. 

Capture of Goliad. — Encouraged by the victory at 
Gonzales, a small company of planters (about forty- 
seven in number), with George M. Collinsworth as 
leader, determined to capture Goliad. They arrived near 
the town (October 8th or 9th) and sent out scouts, who 
as they were passing a dense thicket were startled by a 
voice asking, *' Who are you ? " On replying they v/ere 
Texans, to their joyful surprise they saw Colonel Benja- 
min R. Milam emerging from the bushes. He hurriedly 
told them of his escape from the Mexican prison at Mon- 
terey,^® of his perilous journey back to Texas, and then 
asked that he be allowed to join their ranks and assist 
in the attack upon Goliad. The Texans surprised the 
small Mexican garrison, and after a short struggle cap- 
tured the soldiers, a generous supply of firearms and 
$10,000 in money and supplies. 

Battle of Concepcio'n. — General Cos had now reached 
Bexar with four or five hundred leenforcements. Hav- 
ing determined to take San Antonio from the Mexicans, 
Austin marched with his little army of volunteers from 
Gonzales to Salado Creek, and then sent forward Colonel 
James Bowie and Captain J. W. Fannin with about 
ninety-two men to find a place for encamping still nearer 
the city. The officers decided on the Mission Concep- 
cion, and at a bend in the river, some distance from the 
Mission, the Texans halted for the night. A strong 
guard was placed and our men lay down to rest with their 
arms at their sides. Soon after daybreak (Oct. 28), the 
Texans were aroused by rapid firing. Every man sprang 



ii8 



THE BATTLE OF CONCEPGION 



[1^35 



to his feet, grasped his rifle, and peered through the 
fog that hung heavily around him to see the position 
of the enemy. As soon as it grew hghter, the Texans 
saw they were surrounded by the Mexicans. The in- 
fantry and cavalry of the enemy advanced ; at the order 
they poured forth a volley of balls. The Texans fired 
more slowly but each one picked his man so surely that 
the Mexicans fell rapidly. The Mexican commander 
ordered a cannon to be turned upon the " rebels." No 
sooner did a gunner approach to fire it than a bullet 




A Cannon of the Revolution 



aimed by some steady-handed Texan pierced his brain. 
The Mexican cavalry charged, but the colonists repelled 
them. Wildly jubilant the Texans now cried: ''The 
cannon ! The cannon ! " and rushed forward t" take it. 
The enemy fled before their attack ; the cannon was cap- 
tured and turned upon the Mexicans ; the field was left 
to the Texans. Thus, in an actual engagement of only 
thirty minutes, less than one hundred Texan farmers 
conquered four hundred Mexican soldiers. The former 
had only their guns and pistols, while the latter had every- 
thing in the way of arms, besides the cannon ; but the 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTIO>l 



119 



former were freemen fighting for their liberty, while the 
latter were servants obeying a Dictator. 

Results. — Bowie claimed the Mexican loss was heavy 
in both killed and wounded. The Texans had one killed, 
the gallant Richard Andrews, and one wounded.^^ In 
their report to Commander-in-Chief Austin, who came 
up with the main body of volunteers soon after the battle 
was won, Bowie and 
Fannin said : ''Had it 
been possible to com- 
municate with you and 
bring you up earlier, 
Bexar would have been 
ours before 12 o'clock." 
The victory won in this, 
the first regular battle of 
the revolution, greatly 
encouraged the Texans, 
and made them feel that 
God was with their 
cause. 

The Texas Army. — 
As soon as General Aus- 
tin joined Bowie and 
Fannin, he wished to Jf 
press on and attack San ^rC/^l/^jriJ,'^ 
Antonio, thinking the / 

confusion of the Mexicans defeated at Concepcion would 
make victory sure for the Texans. A council of war 
decided against Austin's plan but agreed to besiege San 
Antonio. Austin then devoted his time to organizing 
and training the army, which the student must never for- 
get was made up of men who knew little of military 
discipline. Volunteers came in every day. Deaf Smith, 




120 



SIEGE OF SAN ANTONIO 



[1835 



who was to do such famous service as a scout, joined the 
ranks. New Orleans sent two companies of gallant 
young men, called "The Grays." -^ Nearly a month 
passed by with the army inactive. 

Edward Burleson in Command. — Austin was chosen 
commissioner to the United States, Edward Burleson-- 
was (November 24) elected by the troops about San 

Antonio to take com- 
mand. 

Now Burleson knew 
that General Cos had 
a strong force in San 
Antonio, and that the 
town was well forti- 
fied. He hesitated, 
therefore, to risk an 
attack and the siege 
was continued. The 
most trying part of 
any campaign is wait- 
ing for action.-^' -* 
Even to trained sol- 
diers it is wearying; 
to these farmers, who 
had wives and chil- 
dren depending upon them, it was doubly so. Cold 
weather was coming on, and many were forced to return 
to their homes. Others threatened to leave; a spirit of 
unrest, discord, and dissatisfaction filled the camp. 

Ben Milam's Plan. — About this time a deserter ar- 
rived in camp who told the Texans that the Mexican 
troops were dissatisfied, that the fortifications were not 
so strong as represented, and that General Cos was igno- 
rant as to the real state of affairs in the Texas camp. 




Edward Burleson 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 121 

Burleson and Milam held a conference and decided that 
the latter should lead a volunteer party against the enemy. 
Ben Milam stepped to the center of the camp, waved his 
hat, gave a ringing "huzza," and shouted : "Who will go 
with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?" Cheer after 
cheer rose from the soldiers and about two hundred and 
fifty volunteered. 

The Storming of San Antonio. — V\^hile it was still 
dark on the morning of December 5, the men stole 
silently to an old mill near by, where Milam was to give 
orders for the attack. All was soon arranged. At five 
o'clock, Colonel Neill led his division to storm the Alamo, 
as it seemed, but in reality this was only a ruse to give 
the force led by Milam and Colonel F. W. Johnson, a 
chance to enter the city unobserved. The Texans opened 
a lively fire upon the Alamo. The Mexicans were com- 
pletely surprised, but the bugle-sound quickly brought 
them to arms. Neill, learning that Milam had succeeded 
in making his way into San Antonio, withdrew to join 
the other troops. The battle now raged ; desperate brav- 
ery was shown on both sides. The Texans had to fight 
their way step by step. Now they gained a house, now 
only a room, but on they went, always advancing, al- 
ways holding what they gained. Four days and five 
nights they struggled and still the town was not theirs. 
At last, through tremendous effort, they captured a 
priest's house that overlooked the public square. Here 
they were able to silence the cannon of the Mexicans. 
The victory was won ! 

Milam's Death. — The saddest of the misfortunes of 
the Texans was the death of brave Ben Milam. After 
three days, filled with daring deeds, he was killed De- 
cember 7, while passing into the Veramendi House to 
give orders. On the spot, made sacred by his fall. 



122 SURRENDER OF SAN ANTONIO [1835 

he was buried.-'^ Colonel Johnson succeeded to his com- 
mand. 

Surrender of Cos. — Durii^g the first day of the attack, 
a red and black flag had floated from the Mexican quar- 
ters. This meant, "Death to every Texan." But on the 
morning of the 9th, General Cos was forced to raise the 
white flag. General Burleson entered the city, and by 
two o'clock that night had all the conditions of the sur- 
render arranged.-*^ They were as follows: i. Cos and 
his officers were allowed to depart with their arms and 
private property, on the promise that they would never 
oppose the return of Mexico to a purely Republican form 
of government, and never take up arms against Texas. 
2. All convict soldiers were to be taken entirely out of 
Texas. 3. Those Mexican troops who wished to leave 
the army, or remain in San Antonio, were to be permitted 
to do so. 4. All public property was to belong to the 
victors. The sick and wounded were given permission 
to remain, and food was furnished them. 

End of Campaign and Results. — The Mexicans had 
more than one hundred and fifty killed and a large num- 
ber wounded ; the Texans had two killed and twenty-five 
or twenty-six wounded. Twenty-one pieces of artillery, 
five hundred muskets, and a large supply of army stores 
were taken by the Texans. When it is remembered that 
General Cos had at least four times as many soldiers as 
the Texas colonists, that he was well supplied with small 
arms and cannon, it is indeed wonderful that so small a 
band of Texans should have been able to wrest from him 
a town strongly fortified. The result most gladdening to 
the hearts of the Texans was the fact that the withdrawal 
of Cos left their country free from the Mexican soldiery. 
On December 15, Burleson, leaving at the Alamo a garri- 
son under the command of Johnson, returned home. 



ERA IVJ REVOLUTION 12^ 

General Consultation. — On November 3, a general 
consultation^^ was held at San Felipe. ^^ A provisional 
government was formed. Henry Smith was elected gov- 
ernor, and J. W. Robinson was elected lieutenant-gover- 
nor. A council was thereupon appointed to help the 
governor in all public matters. Plans were speedily 
laid for raising an army. Sam Houston was created 
Major-General of all the armies of Texas. Branch 
T. Archer, William H. Wharton, and Stephen F. Austin 
were chosen to present an appeal for aid to the United 
States. 

No Declaration of Independence. — While some mem- 
bers of the Consultation wished to cut loose from Mexico 
at once and declare Texas independent, others saw this 
would be a mistake. Texas needed the sympathy and 
assistance of the outside world. She could most surely 
gain these by showing that she was only striving for 
justice. The Consultation voted fifteen for independence, 
thirty-three for the support of the Mexican Constitution 
of 1824. 

The Governor and the Council. — Governor Smith 
and the council had a difficult task in raising money to 
sustain the army and the government. The citizens of 
Texas had done all in their power, private parties in 
the United States had given liberally, yet such contribu- 
tions were but drops compared with the ocean of expense 
that now deluged Texas. Archer, Austin, and Wharton 
were sent to the United States to obtain a loan. Ar- 
rangements were made to raise a regular army of one 
thousand one hundred and twenty men ; there was to 
be one regiment of artillery and one of infantry. Each 
soldier who volunteered for two years was to receive, 
besides regular pay, six hundred and forty acres of 
land. Unfortunately Governor Smith and the Council 



124 THE YEAR OF INDEPENDENCE [1836 

could not agree. The Council claimed powers that the 
Governor considered belonging to his department ; neither 
would yield to the other. When Governor Smith vetoed 
a measure (and he several times thought it his duty so 
to do), the Council almost invariably thought it neces- 
sary to pass the bill over his veto. 

The Council appointed officers against whom the Gov- 
ernor brought the gravest charges. The public men, the 
army, even the people, began to take up the quarrel, 
until it seemed that Texas would be destroyed by the 
strife of her own sons. 

THE YEAR 1 836 

Quarrel between Governor Smith and the Council. — • 

Early in January matters between the Governor and the 
Council came to a crisis. The Council wished to carry 
the war across the border; they hoped for aid from the 
Liberal party in Mexico, since they were fighting not 
for independence but for the Mexican Constitution. By 
sending an expedition against Matamoras, the Council 
hoped to capture the receipts of the custom-house at Mata- 
moras and Tampico. They claimed this expedition would 
also check Santa Anna from invading Texas again. 

The Governor had no confidence in the Mexicans, was 
opposed to the Matamoras expedition,^^ and favored 
fortifying San Antonio against Santa Anna. 

[Note to Teachers. — Young pupils may omit the next two 
topics.] 

The Matamoras Expedition. — On December 30, 
1835, Dr. Grant ^^ had orders from Colonel Johnson, 
then in command at San Antonio, to secure volunteers 
and to march from Bexar to Goliad, the object being an 
attack upon Matamoras. Colonel Johnson then hastenod 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 125 

to San Felipe to report to the Council and the Governor 
what he had done and to make further arrangements. 
He left Colonel James C. Neill in command. On Janu- 
ary 3, the Council, in spite of Governor Smith's .objec- 
tions, agreed to the expedition and put Colonel Johnson 
in command. On January 6, for some reason now un- 
known Johnson declined the position. Colonel Fannin 
was then appointed and hastened to issue a call for vol- 
unteers wishing the invasion of Mexico to gather at San 
Patricio January 24 to January 2y. *' 

All at once Colonel Johnson changed his mind, decided 
to lead the expedition, was authorized so to do by^ the 
Council and sent out a notice that the whole volunteer 
army of Texas would march from San Patricio between 
Janury 25 and January 30. Here were two commanders 
ordered to lead the same expedition! General Houston 
complained to the Governor that he was being ignored 
as Commander-in-chief of the army, so on January ^, 
Governor Smith ordered Houston also to lead his army 
to the West. 

Governor Smith's Letter. — Colonel Neill reported to 
General Houston, from San Antonio that Dr. Grant, after 
raising volunteers for the Matamoras expedition, had 
taken provisions, clothing and ammunition stored in the 
fort fpr the Texas army. This left only a scanty garrison 
to hold Bexar and this garrison lacked even the neces- 
saries of life. On January 6, Houston forwarded this 
news to the Governor. Then it was that Governor Smith 
lost all patience, and sent to the Council (January 9) a 
most scathing message,^^ rebuking them for allowing 
" such outrages " and declaring the Council adjourned 
till March i. On January 11, the Council suspended 
Governor Smith from office and decreed that Lieutenant- 
Governor Robinson should act as governor. Smith re- 



126 



PLANS TO CONQUER TEXAS 



[1836 



fused to retire from office; the Council failed to secure 
a quorum after January 18, and in this confusion public 
affairs remained till March, when the Convention met. 

Loan Secured. — With rumors of coming invasion by 
Santa Anna added to the trouble between Governor and 
Council, it was fortunate that Austin and his committee 
obtained in the United States a large loan. 

Santa Anna's Preparations. — When Santa Anna re- 
ceived news of the surrender of 
General Cos at San Antonio, he 
was filled with rage. He vowed 
that he would never rest until 
Texas should be humbled in the 
dust. He asserted his plans for 
conquering Texas. All who had 
taken part in the rebellion were 
to be driven from the province. 
All who were not rebels were to 
be removed far into the interior. 
The best lands were to be given 
to Mexican officers and soldiers. 
No one from the United States 
was to be allowed to settle in the 
province under any circumstances. 
The Texans were to pay all ex- 
penses of the war. Every for- 
eigner who should bring arms or military stores into 
Texas was to be considered and treated as a pirate. 
This threat was to prevent the Americans from assisting 
the Texans. Mexico seemed eager to subdue the stub- 
born state that had dared refuse obedience to the mighty 
" Napoleon of the West," as Santa Anna termed himself. 
Points of Attack. — As at San Antonio the Mexicans 
had received so disgraceful a defeat, here Santa Anna 







David Crockett 
From Portrait by W. 
Huddle 



H. 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



127 




a 



T-rir—i 



flCKtr «NCE 



p 



i 



A<O0H. 

eovERED sr C s- a 




Ground plan of the Alamo 



A, chapel — being the present 
Alamo. 

B, platform in chapel. 

C, door of chapel. 

D, wall, fifty feet long, 
twelve feet high. 

E, E, stone house or barrack, 
one hundred and eighty-six 
feet by eighteen feet, and 
eighteen feet high. 

F, F, one-story stone bar- 
rack, one hundred and four- 
teen feet by seventeen feet, 
with porte cochere at S. 

G, H, L K, stone-walled 
rooms built against west bar- 
rier. 



L, L, L, L, barrier walls, en- 
closing large area, one hun- 
dred and fifty-four yards by 
fifty-four yards in size. 

R, intrenchment and pali- 
sades. 

M, gate. 

n, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, doors to 
rooms. 

0, O, barrier walls of small 
area. 

P, cattle-pen. 

Q, a breach in north wall. 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, II, 
12, 13, 14, location of cannon. 

#, raised platform for can- 
non. 



128 



IN THE ALAMO 



[1836 



resolved to strike his first blow for vengeance. Tow^ard 
the last of February, he led an army of his best soldiers 
to that city. 

The Texas Garrison at San Antonio. — As we have 
seen, Colonel Neill was left in Bexar with a mere hand- 

f u 1 of soldiers. 
In answer to his 
a])peal for aid, 
General Houston 
sent Colonel 
James Bowie 
with a small 
force. Soon af- 
ter Governor 
S m i t h ordered 
Colonel William 
B. Travis and 
h i s company to 
Bexar. General 
Houston, as com- 
mander - in-chief, 
had ordered the 
fort to be blown 
up and the city 
abandoned, but 
his command was 
not obeyed, as 
Colonel Neill did 
not have horses 
enough to remove the artillery. Colonel Neill having 
asked to be relieved from duty on account of illness. Col- 
onel W. B. Travis and Colonel James Bowie with one 
hundred and forty-four men were in charge of the town. 
The^^ were well armed and had a few pieces of cannon, 




ERA IV] REVOLUTION 129 

but their supply of ammunition was small. If weak in 
number, they were strong in courage. Travis,^^ Bowie, 
Crockett were there, and Bonham was to come. 

Arrival of Mexicans. — The Mexicans, having cap- 
tured the Texan scouts, came suddenly ^^ upon the town, 
February 23. The garrison was stationed at the Alamo 
Mission ^^ which was the stronghold of the city : the 
fort was in the condition in which General Cos had 
surrendered it. The Texans put everything in readiness 
for the attack which they knew would soon be made. 

First Day of the Siege.— The following letter from 
Travis gives us an account of the first day of the siege : 



COMMANDANCY OF THE AlAMO, 

Bejar, Feby. 24th, 1836 — 
To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world: 

Fellow citizens & compatriots — I am besieged, by a thou- 
sand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — I have sus- 
tained a continued Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have 
not lost a man — the enemy has demanded a surrender at discre- 
tion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the 
fort is taken — I have answered the demand with a cannon 
shot, & our flag 2^ still waves proudly from the walls — / shall 
never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of 
Liberty, of patriotism, & everything dear to the American char- 
acter, to come to our aid, with all despatch — The enemy is re- 
ceiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three 
or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected^ 
I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like 
a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & 
that of his country — Victory or Death. 

William Barret Travis 
Lt. Col. comdt. 

P.S. The Lord is on our side — When the enemy appeared in 
sight we had not three bushels of corn — We have since found 
in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 
30 head of Beeves — ■ Travis 



[30 



TRAVIS'S LETTER 



[1836 



[FaaimiU o/rtt Tratii Uilr} 



-*^-* 






J^./^:r^ ^i^Z^j^ -^^^.^Js^^-^ 









c^ 



















ERA IVJ REVOLUTION 



^4^^ ~7^i^=i.^ '^^-'^^ ^"^^ y^c^-^-^ ^y^U:,^,:^^ 

^^;;^7^ C^e^^^^ <^^-^^ ^^^ ^^'^^^^^^^'^i^^^^i^ 



131 





^y^ /:i^ -^^ /^> — 




Travis's Bible 



132 STORMING THE ALAMO [1836 

Succeeding Days of the Siege. — Eloquent,^^ indeed, 
was this death cry from Travis, but alas ! it brought no 
such response as he and his men hoped. Day by day 
Santa Anna drew his hues closer about the Alamo; day 
by day the Mexican forces increased, until they num- 
bered perhaps five thousand men; day by day the red flag 
v^^aved before the little band of heroes ; day by day the 
cannon poured a murderous fire upon the fort and its 
noble defenders ; day after day the Texans strained eye 
and ear to catch the first sign of the aid so anxiously 
expected. On March i, thirty-two brave spirits from 
Gonzales made their way through the lines. Even then 
the garrison was but one hundred and eighty-two men, 
counting the sick and wounded. After this, no help 
came, and nothing was left to Travis but to await the 
movements of the enemy. ^"^ 

Mexican Council of War. — On March 5th Santa 
Anna called a council of war. As his officers did not 
agree about the best time to make an attack, he himself 
decided to order the storming of the Alamo Mission at 
break of day March 6th. Special orders were given to 
all troops, and officers were instructed to take the fort 
at any sacrifice. 

The Attack. — While it was yet dark (March 6), the 
Mexicans surrounded the Alamo. The infantry were 
supplied with crow-bars and ladders for scaling the walls. 
Back of these were the cavalry, who were ordered to 
kill any soldier that shirked the fight, and to see that no 
Texan escaped. At dawn a single bugle blast, the signal 
for battle, rang out. Amidst the roar of cannon, " the 
trumpets sounding the awful notes of the deguello (day- 
gway-lyo), signifying no quarter," Santa Anna's troops 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 133 

advanced to the attack from three separate directions. ^^ 
The Texans received them with a terrible volley of 
musketry and artillery. Back rushed the Mexicans be- 
fore that fire of death. Again they advanced, planted 
their ladders and tried to mount. The fury of despair 
nerved the arms of Travis's men, and again they hurled 
back the foe. The Mexicans, bleeding, wounded, and 
shattered, hesitated to renew the attack but the stern com- 
mand of Santa Anna, and the flashing sabres of the cav- 
alry, forced them on. By tens, by hundreds, they 
swarmed up the ladders. Down fell the first, the second, 
crushing all beneath them, while the Texans stood their 
ground. But there is a limit to all human power. What 
could one hundred and eighty-two men, worn out by 
eleven days of constant effort, do against so many 
fresh troops? The Mexicans were pushed forward over 
the bodies of their dead comrades. Now they were on 
the walls, now the noble Travis fell, now Bonham. The 
enemies were in the convent court. The outer walls were 
abandoned, and the Texans were pushed backwards to- 
wards the barracks and the church. Every apartment 
was a battle-field, every room a fortress where Death 
alone was conqueror. Crushing through the massive 
stone walls came the cannon balls from their own guns, 
now turned against them, yet our heroes struggled on 
till they were literally cut to pieces. But they fell not 
unavenged. The court ran with blood, but resistance 
did not cease until every one of the noble band lay a 
bleeding sacrifice upon his country's altar.^^ "Death 
and Santa Anna held the place." 

The Funeral Pyre. — The storming of the Alamo oc- 
cupied less than one hour. By the order of Santa Anna, 
the bodies of the Texans were collected in a huge pile 



134 



THE ALAMO MONUMENTS 



[1836 



and burned, while the dead Mexicans were taken to the 
cemetery for burial.^*^ As the Sabbath sun sank slowly 
in the west, the smoke from that funeral pyre of heroes 
ascended as incense to heaven. From that sacred fire 
sprang the flames that lighted all Texas, and caused even 
the '' Napoleon of the West " to tremble. 

The State and the Alamo. — In May, 1883, the State 
bought the Alamo Church for $20,000. The Daughters 
of the Republic of Texas, a group of patriotic women, 
generously raised $10,000 towards buying that supposed 
part of the Mission of San Antonio de Valero next to 
the church, called the "long barracks." In 1905 the 
Legislature appropriated $65,000 for this purpose. The 
total purchase money was $75,000, 
but the state to-day ranks this 
property as priceless. The visitor 
to San Antonio to-day finds in the 
very midst of the whirl and bustle 
of modern life this silent yet 
eloquent reminder of the Texas 
Thermopylae. 

The Alamo Monuments. — At 
the entrance to the old capitol at 
Austin stood a monument built 
from the ruins of the Alamo, and 
dedicated to the heroes who per- 
ished there. The names Bowie, 
Travis, Bonham, and Crockett 
stood out in bold relief, one on each side. The north 
front bore this inscription : *' To the God of the fearless 
and free is dedicated this altar, made from the ruins of 
the Alamo." The east front : '' Thermopylae had her mes- 
senger of defeat, but the Alamo had none." The west 
front : '' Blood of heroes hath stained me ; let the stones 




Detail of old Alamo 
Monument 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



135 



of the Alamo speak that their immolation be not for- 
gotten." The south front : " Be they enrolled with Leon- 
idas in the host of the mighty dead." 

This monument was destroyed at the burning of the 
capitol in 1881. A 
new monument now 
stands on the capitol 
grounds. 

Why Travis was 
not Reenforced. — 
The fact that Travis 
did not receive suffi- 
cient reenforcements 
may be assigned to 
two causes, i. The 
disagreement between 
the Governor and 
Council prevented 
any prompt, energetic 
action on the part of 
the government. 2. 
The masses of the 
people were ignorant 
of the perils that 
threatened the garri- 
son at the Alamo. It 
must be remembered 
that in 1836 all news 
from Mexico c a ni e 
by sailing vessels via 
Vera Cruz and New Orleans to Harrisburg, Brazoria, 
or Matagorda; this voyage took three weeks or more, 
and then another week was required to spread the tidings 
among the people by means of couriers. Thus Santa 




Old Alamo Monument 



136 



CAUSE OF DELAY 



[1836 



Anna might have been four weeks on his march to- 
ward Texas before the colonists knew that he had left 
Mexico. It was . known that Santa Anna was prepar- 




New Alamo Monument 



ing to invade Texas, but our people had no idea that 
he would attempt to cross the uninhabited region east 
of the Rio Grande until the spring grass appeared; 
they also thought the boggy condition of the country 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 137 

would prevent his arriving at San Antonio before May. 
Even Travis did not know that Santa Anna was near 
till the Mexican army came in sight ; he may have ex- 
pected a raid from the Mexican cavalry, but that he had 
no idea of the real state of affairs is shown by the fact 
that he made no urgent appeal for aid till February 24. 
As soon as his call was sent out volunteers from the east 
hastened toward the besieged fort, but with the exception 
of Capt. Martin and his men from Gonzales (the nearest 
strong settlement) they came too late. 

Declaration of Independence. — On March i, a con- 
vention met at Washington on the Brazos. Richard Ellis 
was made President and H. S. Kimble, Secretary. The 
Convention declared (March 2d) Texas to be an Inde- 
pendent Republic.^^ 

Temporary Government. — The Convention took the 
government into its own hands, thus ridding Texas of 
the strife between Governor Smith and the Council. A 
Constitution was adopted for the Republic of Texas. As 
there was no time in the middle of war for the people to 
elect officers, the Convention chose temporary officers. 
These were President, David G. Burnet ; Vice-President, 
Lorenzo de Zavala. A Cabinet of five members was 
selected to aid the President. General Sam Houston was 
elected Commander-in-Chief of the Army. 

When the news came of the fall of the Alamo and the 
approach of the Mexicans, the Convention adjourned in 
deep sorrow and passionate excitement. President Bur- 
net moved all state papers to Harrisburg and thence 
to Galveston, lest they should fall into Santa Anna's 
hands. 

Recruits for the Army. — Realizing the need of more 
soldiers the Convention ordered that able-bodied men be- 
tween the ages of seventeen and fifty should be subject 



138 



HOUSTON'S DIFFICULTIES 



[1836 



to military duty. No citizen was to be forced to serve 
for longer than six months. An earnest appeal for aid 
was sent to the United States, and to secure volunteers 
the Convention decreed that volunteers already in the 
army, who would serve till the close of the war, should 
receive one thousand two hundred and eighty acres of 
land; volunteers for six months were to receive six 
hundred and forty acres; volunteers for three months 
three hundred and twenty acres. 

Houston's Difficulties. — From the beginning Hous- 
ton found his position as 
commander-in-chief of the 
Texas forces beset with 
difficulties. We have seen 
how Johnson, Grant and 
Fannin had been ordered 
by the Council to collect 
troops and to invade Mex- 
ico. These officers 
claimed that, as- they were 
authorized to undertake 
the Matamoras Plan, not 
by Governor Smith and 
not by General Houston, 
but by the military com- 
mittee of the Council, therefore they were not subordinate 
to Houston. Following the Governor's direction, Hous- 
ton went from Washington (on the Brazos) via Goliad 
to Refugio where (January 20 or 21) he had a confer- 
ence with Johnson. Finding Johnson would not recog- 
nize him as commander-in-chief, Houston made a speech 
to the soldiers and persuaded most of them to withdraw 
from Johnson's troops, thus making it impossible for 
Johnson to carry out his plan against Matamoras. Hous- 




David G. Burnet 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



139 



ton then returned to Washington and laid the case before 
the Governor. Certain Indian tribes had troubles they 
wished settled; Houston had been named by the Gov- 
ernor and Council as one of a committee to treat with 
the red men, consequently 
Governor Smith now gave 
him a furlough till March i 
and sent him to attend to this 
duty. He returned in time 
to serve as a member of the 
Convention of March, 1836. 

When on March 2, Texas 
was declared a free and in- 
dependent republic, even the 
most sanguine supporters of 
the Matamoras idea were 
forced to admit that they 
could now hope for no aid 
from the Mexicans, and the 
invasion was abandoned. 

Houston's Appeals Not 
Heeded. — On his reelection 
(March 4) as commander, 
Houston hastened to Gon- 
zales, where he found three 
hundred and seventy-four un- 
disciplined recruits and scanty 
supplies. He made strong 
appeals for volunteers, but it seemed that the Texans, 
discouraged by the quarrel between the Governor 
and the Council, took little interest in the defense of 
their country. Most of the volunteers were from the 
United States. To add to the troubles of the hour, came 
the awful news of the fall of the Alamo,*^ and tidings 




Statue of Sam Houston 
by Elizabeth Ney 



140 THE GREAT INVASION [1836 

that the Mexican army was approaching. Terror fell 
upon the people. The country for miles about San An- 
tonio was absolutely deserted ; men, women, and chil- 
dren preferred to give up home and property, to suffer 
any privation, rather than to fall into the hands of the 
unpitying Santa Anna. 

General Urrea (oo-ra''a). — While Santa Anna was 
marching against San Antonio, General Urrea was has- 
tening into the country near the Gulf coast, with orders 
to take possession of San Patricio, Refugio, and Goliad. 
He reached Texas the latter part of February with not 
less than nine hundred men. 

Grant and Johnson. — Retracing our steps we find Dr. 
Grant and Colonel Johnson with about one hundred men 
at San Patricio still making preparations to attack Mata- 
moras. They expected soon to be joined by Fannin. 
While on a raid for horses Grant and his little company 
were surrounded by a strong Mexican force under Urrea 
himself and cut to pieces. On February 27 General 
Urrea captured San Patricio and put to death all Texas 
soldiers except Johnson and a few others who managed 
to escape. 

King and Ward at Refugio. — Families living around 
the Refugio Mission sent to Colonel Fannin (who was 
then at Goliad), asking for protection in moving to 
Goliad, as Urrea was reported to be approaching. Fan- 
nin ordered Captain King with twenty-seven or twenty- 
eight men to act as escort to these colonists. King 
reached Refugio in safety, but before he could start back 
with the families, the Mexican army appeared, and he 
was forced to retire to the church of the Mission. He 
sent to Fannin for aid, and Lieutenant-Colonel Ward with 
about one hundred men hurried to his relief, March I3. 
King and his men were caught outside the fort and slain 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION T41 

by the enemy. Urrea stormed the mission, but was re- 
pulsed. The ammunition being exhausted, Ward thought 
best to retreat toward Victoria. Urrea's men soon 
hemmed him in ; hence, as there was nothing to be done, 
and fair terms were offered, he surrendered (March 21). 
What his fate was we shall see later, 

Fannin. — At Goliad Colonel Fannin had under his 
command between four and five hundred men most of 
whom were volunteers from other states. Fannin was 
quite willing to serve under Houston, if the General 
would lead the expedition against Matamoras. But, as 
we have seen, Houston was sent to treat with the In- 
dians and Fannin was left to make his own plans. When 
he heard of the coming of the Mexican army into Texas, 
he decided to remain at Goliad and strengthen the fort 
so as to be ready for Urrea's attack. Supplies were so 
scant that his men suffered severely. 

Fatal Delay. — About the middle of March, General 
Houston, who was now by authority of the Conven- 
tion the undisputed Commander-in-chief of the Texas 
army, ordered Colonel Fannin to leave Goliad, destroy 
all fortifications, and hasten to Victoria. As so many 
of his men were absent, Fannin did not feel authorized 
to march without them. Couriers were sent to Refugio 
to bid Captain King and Colonel Ward return at once, 
but neither the couriers nor the soldiers came. On 
March 18, Urrea appeared and a light skirmish followed. 
The next morning, Fannin felt that he could wait no 
longer, so, having dispatched the cavalry to see if the 
way was clear, he commenced his retreat. After a 
journey of some miles, he halted to rest his teams; this 
stop was made a short distance from the Coleto (coh- 
lay-toe). Some of his officers objected, believing it the 
part of prudence to go on to the creek. Fannin and the 



142 FANNIN AT THE COLETO [1836 

majority of his men, however, had such contempt for 
the Mexicans, that they were rash. 

Battle of the Coleto [or Encinal del Perdido] . — After 
an hour's rest, Fannin prepared to continue his march. 
But he found himself completely surrounded by the 
enemy, a strong force jof whom had come up during his 
halt. To make matters worse, the Texans were in a 
depression some feet lower than the surrounding prairie, 
and were without water. Retreat was impossible. Fan- 
nin arranged his men in a hollow rectangle, and made 
ready to meet the attack of the Mexican infantry and 
cavalry that far outnumbered his forces. For hours the 
battle raged fiercely; Fannin's troops showed great 
heroism. As the Texans had no water, their cannon soon 
grew too hot to be used. When it became dark, the Mex- 
icans withdrew, leaving our men victors for the day. 

A Night of Agony. — During all that night, the Texan 
camp presented a sad scene. The moans of the wounded, 
and their pitiful pleadings for water, were heart-rending. 
Fannin himself was severely injured. As all the teams 
had escaped during the battle, there was no means of 
moving the wounded, which meant that every hope of 
retreat under shelter of the darkness was destroyed. 

Surrender. — The next morning, Urrea received not 
less than four hundred fresh troops and two cannon. 
When the Texans saw the Mexican artillery, they knew 
their last chance of victory was gone. In an unfavorable 
place, without water, surrounded by foes that several 
times outnumbered them, tortured by the moans of suf- 
fering amd dying comrades — there was nothing left but 
to surrender. A white flag was raised, and Colonel 
Fannin went out to treat with Urrea. It is said 
his last words to his men were : "If I can't get honorable 
surrender, I'll come back, and we will all die together." 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION I43 

Terms of Surrender. — Different stories are told about 
the agreement between Fannin and Urrea. The Ameri- 
cans have always claimed that the Mexican officers 
promised to treat them as prisoners of war, while Urrea 
claimed the Texans surrendered without conditions and 
showed in his report a copy of the terms agreed upon. 
The Americans refused to believe the copy a true one. 
Not long since, however, another Spanish copy of the 
terms of surrender was found in Mexico, agreeing with 
Urrea's. Freely translated, it reads thus: i. We propose 
that we surrender unconditionally. 2. That the wounded 
and Commander Fannin be treated with all consideration 
possible in asking them to give up their arms. 3. That 
the whole detachment be treated as prisoners of war and 
placed at the disposition of the supreme Government. 

The first and third clauses contradict each other. We 
do not know how to account for this. We do know, how- 
ever, that in 1836 Christian nations did not butcher their 
prisoners of war, so the Americans had every reason to 
hope their lives would be spared. Fannin said there was 
also a verbal pledge that both officers and men should 
be sent back to the United States provided they would 
promise to give no further aid to Texas. 

On Fannin's return, his forces were ordered out to, ^ 
stack their arms. They were then, under a strong guard, 
hurried back to Goliad, where they were imprisoned in 
the old fort. On March 25, Colonel Ward and his men 
were brought as captives to the same place. 

The Massacre. — On the night of the 26th, Fannin's 
men spent the evening in merry conversation concerning 
their return home. Suddenly a rich tenor voice began 
singing "Home, Sweet Home." Many an eye grew dim, 
as one after another took up the soft refrain. Even 
while the song was on their lips, a messenger came 



144 MASSACRE AT GOLIAD [1836 

from Santa Anna, bearing an order for the murder of 
all American prisoners. As the patriots lay down to 
sleep and dream of their far-away homes, the servants of 
the "Prince of Butchers" prepared to execute his com- 
mands. The next morning was Palm Sunday. What a 
day to choose for such a deed ! At dawn, the Texan 
troops were awakened and ordered to file out. They were 
divided into three divisions, each placed under a strong 
guard, and marched in dififerent directions. After going 
a half mile, the officers commanded a halt. The next 
moment a volley of balls hailed upon the unarmed Ameri- 
cans. Again and again they came, till not one was left 
standing. The officers were kept for the last, but shared 
the same fate.^* Even the wounded w^ere dragged from 
their beds and ruthlessly murdered. As a fitting close to 
the scene, the bodies of the Texans were partially covered 
with brush, and this was set on fire. Some few of the 
men escaped by running to the river the moment the 
firing began. Only twenty-seven managed to save their 
lives.^^ 

Santa Annans Excuse for the Massacre. — Such 
cruelty as was shown in this massacre called forth severe 
censure from the civilized world, Santa Anna tried to 
justify his actions by saying that the great Mexican Con- 
gress had passed a law declaring that ''all foreigners 
taken with arms in their hands, making war upon Mexico, 
shall be treated as pirates." All attempts to excuse such a 
deed are mockery. 

Santa Anna's Plans. — After the direful disasters at 
San Antonio and Goliad, Santa Anna considered his work 
in Texas finished. He had no doubt that the rebellious 
colonists were conquered, and as he was needed in 
Mexico, he wished to leave Texas at once. But the of- 
ficers whom he had appointed to reestablish Mexican laws 



IRA IV] REVOLUTION I45 

md forms in the province were wiser than he. They 
iaw that, as yet, the Texans themselves had not been 
subdued. Many of those murdered at the Alamo and at 
Goliad were volunteers from other states; the masses of 
che Texans were, yet to show what they could do. Santa 
Anna, being persuaded that his officers were in the right, 
arranged his army into five divisions, that he might pen- 
etrate the interior of Texas, and rapidly make himself 
master of the province. 

Houston Decides to Retreat. — When Houston re- 
ceived news of the fall of the Alamo and of the approach 
of the Mexicans he ordered Fannin to retreat to Victoria. 
On March 13th Mrs. Dickinson, who had been an eye- 
witness of the death struggle of Travis and his heroes, 
reached Gonzales with the sad news of the fate of the 
Alamo; slie also reported that Santa Anna was sending 
troops towards Gonzales. Houston commanded a re- 
treat and the army left that very night. The town was 
burned to prevent any stores from falling into the hands 
of the enemy. 

Houston's Reasons for the Retreat. — This retreat, 
lasting nearly six weeks, has aroused more discussion 
perhaps than any other event in Texas history. General 
Houston felt that his soldiers were too few in number 
and too poorly trained to meet the veteran troops that 
he heard Santa Anna was to lead against him. He also 
considered any position in South or West Texas, distant 
as it was from the center of population, poor for risking 
a battle, as his men would in case of defeat have no 
chance to escape. The map of Texas shows a number 
of rivers flowing to the southeast. Houston decided that 
these rivers would be his best protection. He an- 
nounced that he would retreat across the Colorado and 
there make a stand; he felt sure hundreds of Texans 



146 HOUSTON'S RETREAT [1836 

would hasten to the army when they heard of Santa 
Anna's coming. 

The " Runaway Scrape." — News of Mrs. Dickmson's 
story, of Houston's retreat, of the removal of the seat 
of government from Washington on the Brazos to Har- 
risburg, of the onward march of the Mexicans under 
General Sesma, all caused the people to become terror- 
stricken. Most of the men, even many of the boys, had 
joined the army, thus leaving at home only women and 
children. When Houston marched eastward, these were 
left with no barrier between them and the Mexican army, 
who had the reputation of showing mercy to none. Soon 
the roads going east were thronged with wagons, ox- 
carts, horses and even cows loaded with women, children 
and household goods ; many colonists trudged on foot. 
When the news came of the surrender and murder of 
Fannin's command it seemed that the worst had come. 
The army had increased to perhaps fourteen hundred, 
the soldiers were eager for battle, and when their general 
continued to retreat even after the Colorado was crossed, 
they bitterly reproached him. In vain Houston appealed 
to the Texans to stay with the army and thus protect 
their families. Scores of men left camp to take their 
loved ones to places of safety and still the caravan of 
women and children toiled on over rough, muddy roads 
to the east. They were in danger from Indians, they 
suffered from hunger and rain, they were poorly clad, 
sickness and death fell upon them, but still they pressed 
on eastward.^^ 

Line of Retreat. — From Gonzales Houston marched 
to Burnam's on the Colorado (near the present La 
Grange). After a halt of some days and after stopping 
at smaller points he went to San Felipe on the Brazos. 
As Captains Baker and Martin refused to retreat fur- 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 147 

ther, he left Captain Baker to guard the crossing of the 
river at San FeHpe and Captain Martin to watch the 
ford at Fort Bend. At Groce's on the Brazos (near 
where Hempstead now stands) he camped two weeks 
and tried to train the troops, but they were so eager to 
fight and so uneasy about their wives and children, that 
they were in little humor for military discipline. On 
April 14, Houston marched from Groce's and on the 
1 8th came to Harrisburg where he left the sick and dis- 
abled with a small force to protect them. 

Santa Anna's Movements. — The Mexicans had a 
strong force in Texas, but they were widely separated. 
One division was left at San Antonio de Bexar ; another 
was on its way from San Antonio to Nacogdoches; a 
third was stationed at Victoria ; General Sesma was hur- 
ried after Houston; Colonel Amat (ah-mat') was or- 
dered later to march by way of Gonzales and join Sesma. 
Houston had no sooner crossed the Colorado than Sesma 
with about seven hundred men came up ; here it was that 
the Texas army begged to be led to battle. While Hous- 
ton was in camp at Groce's, Santa Anna himself took 
command of Sesma's troops and led them to San Felipe. 
When he learned that the Texas government had moved 
its headquarters to Harrisburg, Santa Anna resolved to 
turn aside from his course, take the town, and make 
prisoners of all Texas officials, including his enemy, 
Lorenzo De Zavala. He burned the town, but President 
Burnet and his party escaped. Santa Anna then passed 
down to New Washington on Galveston Bay and re- 
turned to the San Jacinto River. 

Houston Meets the Enemy. — On April 18, two Mex- 
ican captives were brought into the Texas camp by Deaf 
Smith.^^ From the despatches they carried, Houston 
learned what he did not know positively before, that 



148 



HOUSTON'S RETREAT 



1 1836 




hU 







K CO 



o 

H 
en 
D 
O 

K 

fx. 

O 

< 2 






ERA IV] REVOLUTION 149 

Santa Anna was with the advance force of the enemy, 
and that he was cut off from the other divisions of his 
army. Houston felt that the hour had struck and he 
determined at once to stake all upon a battle. He hur- 
riedly moved on to a point near Lynchburg, opposite 
the mouth of the San Jacinto. From the report of his 
scouts he felt sure not many hours would pass before 
the enemy would come in sight. He selected a suitable 
place for a camp, mounted the '' Twin Sisters " (two 
cannon presented the Texans by Cincinnati friends), 
formed his men, and waited. Nor did he have long 
to wait. Ere the tired soldiers had time to rest, scouts 
came flying in with news of the approach of Santa 
Anna. The Mexican bugle soon told the same story. 
The day (April 20) was marked by a skirmish that gave 
no advantage to either side; in the evening Santa 
Anna camped about three-fourths of a mile distant from 
Houston's army. 

April 21. — The day dawned clear and bright that was 
to decide whether Texas should be free. In the morn- 
ing a body of men was seen in the distance marching 
toward the enemy's camp. " Reenforcements for Santa 
Anna," passed from lip to lip. It was General Cos who 
had come with about four hundred troops to Santa 
Anna's assistance. The Mexicans threw up a breast- 
work five feet high of pack-saddles and baggage sacks, 
leaving an opening in the center for their cannon. A 
defense of brushwood was also placed in front and on 
the right. At noon Houston called a council of war; 
the officers did not agree upon a plan of action, but the 
majority favored postponing the battle until morning. 
The soldiers were asked their opinion and voted to fight 
immediately. Deaf Smith and some trusty companions 
were authorized to destroy Virice's bridge. As this 



I50 BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO [1836 

bridge was on the nearest road to the Brazos, its de- 
struction meant a delay of other reenforcements that 
might be on their way to join Santa Anna. 

Battle of San Jacinto. — At three o'clock a parade was 
ordered. The eight hundred brave Texans learned that 
they were to be led against Santa Anna's thirteen hun- 
dred ^* veteran soldiers. The news was gladly received. 
Quickly yet quietly preparations were made. The na- 
ture of the ground allowed them to form in Hne of battle 
without being seen by the enemy.^^ In the opposite 
camp all was silent, as most of the officers were taking 
their afternoon nap, the general himself being asleep. 
There may have been little martial music to cheer the 
band of Texans, but he who looked into those flashing 
eyes and read the resolution written on those brows and 
lips, knew they had no need of drum or fife. The Mexi- 
cans, though surprised, at once prepared to meet the 
charge of the advancing columns. As the Americans 
neared the camp and saw before them the butchers of 
their friends and loved ones a fierce cry for vengeance 
burst from every heart, " Remember the Alamo ! Re- 
member Goliad ! " ^^ For a second the Mexicans shrank 
back in terror, but rallying, they poured a raking fire 
of musketry upon the Texans. Not an instant did Hous- 
ton's men pause. Before the enemy could reload, the 
Texans were within pistol-shot; then eight hundred bul- 
lets winged their way into the Mexican ranks. Still the 
Texans paused not. Turning their rifles into war-clubs, 
they grappled hand to hand with the foe. When the 
rifles were broken, they drew their pistols, fired, and then 
hurled them at the enemy. The next instant they took 
their bowie-knives and, again raising the dread battle- 
cry slaughtered right and left in savage fury. The Mex- 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



151 




152 SAN JACINTO [i83t 

icans becoming convinced that they were struggling with 
demons and not mortals, took to flight. In eighteen 
or twenty minutes the battle was won, and the Texan 
forces were in full possession of Santa Anna's camp. 

The Pursuit. — The Mexicans fled in every direction 
while the Texans followed. Many a Mexican fell or 
his knees, and pleaded : " Me no Alamo ; me no Goliad.'' 
It is to be feared that they were not always granted 
mercy, for the Texans had vowed to offer a bloody sac- 
rifice to the memory of the martyred Travis, Bowie. 
Crockett, Bonham and Fannin. When the Mexican cav- 
alry saw that the day was lost they hurried to Vince's 
bridge to make their escape ; the bridge was gone 1 
There was no time to '' head " Vince's bayou ; behind 
them came the dreaded Texans ; before them rolled the 
turbid waters. Death stared them in the face on either- 
side. Many of them plunged into the muddy bayou. 
Down went horse and rider to destruction. Toward 
night Colonel Almonte (al-mon'-ta) formally surrendered 
the four or five hundred Mexicans that he had managed 
to keep together in the retreat. 

Results. — Houston, in his reports, stated the Texan 
loss at two killed and twenty-three wounded, six of whom 
were mortally injured. The Mexicans had six hundred 
and thirty killed, and seven hundred and thirty taken 
prisoners ; of the prisoners two hundred and eight were 
wounded. Probably not more than three or four dozen 
of the enemy escaped. The Texans captured $12,000 in 
specie, some hundreds of mules and horses, and over a 
thousand muskets, sabers, and pistols. Among the dis- 
tinguished prisoners were General Cos, Colonel Almonte, 
and Santa Anna. 

Santa Anna a Prisoner. — On the morning of the 
22d, as some privates were out searching for prisoners, 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



153 




154 CAPTURE OF SANTA ANNA [1836 

they captured a Mexican dressed as a common soldier. 
His manners, and a shirt of the finest material, made 
them think him an officer. When they took him into 
camp, the Mexican prisoners, recognizing him, shouted, 
" The President ! " Then it was known that the Dicta- 
tor was a captive in the hands of the people he had so 
cruelly wronged. He was led to Houston, who, hav- 
ing been severely wounded, was asleep beneath the shade 
of a great oak. Santa Anna took the hand of the pros- 
trate victor, and bowing, introduced himself : " I am 
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, President of 
Mexico, and I claim to be your prisoner of war.'* Hous- 
ton greeted him politely, and invited him to be seated. 
The President then wished to enter at once into a treaty 
of peace with Houston, and Rusk, the Secretary of War. 
They told him that Texas had a Congress, which body 
alone had power to make treaties. " But, General Hous- 
ton," said Santa Anna, " you can afford to be generous, 
for fate has allowed you to have the honor of capturing 
the Napoleon of the West.''^^ All his entreaties were 
useless ; Houston and Rusk would agree to nothing more 
than an armistice. The Dictator at once sent a letter 
to General Filisola, commanding all Mexican forces, to 
withdraw to San Antonio and Victoria, where they 
were to await further orders. Houston used every care 
to have his distinguished prisoner made comfortable, 
and despatched messengers for President Burnet. 

General Rusk Succeeds Houston. — The wound that 
General Houston received during the battle proved to 
be so serious that he was forced to go to New Orleans 
for medical attention. General Rusk succeeded him as 
commander-in-chief. 

President Burnet and His Cabinet Meet Santa 
Anna. — In answer to Houston's summons President Bur^ 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 155 

net and his cabinet hastened to the camp to take coun- 
sel as to what should be done with Santa Anna. They 
soon took the distinguished prisoner to Galveston and 
then to Velasco. Two members of the cabinet, Lamar 
and Potter, were opposed to any treaty with Santa Anna. 
They insisted that he was a murderer, and that his rank 
should not shield him from the punishment he so richly 
deserved ; that as he had shown no mercy to the Texans, 
so should the Texans show him no mercy. Fortunately, 
milder counsels prevailed, and Santa Anna was saved.^^ 
Thus Texas retained the respect and admiration of the 
civilized world, something she needed more than venge- 
ance. 

Two Treaties with Santa Anna. — After much dis- 
cussion, two treaties were made. The public treaty, 
drawn up at Velasco, May 14, 1836, contained as the 
principal points: 

I. That Santa Anna should neither take up arms nor 
use his influence against Texas in her war for inde- 
pendence. 2. All hostilities should cease at once. 3. 
The Mexican troops should withdraw beyond the Rio 
Grande, should respect all private property, and restore 
all property previously captured. 4. The Texans should 
not approach nearer than five leagues to the retreating 
Mexican troops. 5. All American prisoners should be 
released. 6. The treaty should be immediately sent to 
Filisola, that he might act accordingly. 7. Santa Anna 
should be sent to Vera Cruz as soon as it was deemed 
proper. In a secret treaty made at the same time, Santa 
Anna also promised to prepare the Mexican Cabinet, (i) 
to receive favorably any commissioners sent by the Texan 
government, (2) to acknowledge Texan independence, 
and (3) to enter into a treaty of commerce with Texas, 



156 SANTA ANNA IN DANGER [183O 

the territory of the latter not to extend beyond the Rio 
Grande. 

Santa Anna in Danger. — In accordance with this 
treaty, President Burnet permitted the prisoner (June i) 
to go on board the vessel " Invincible," which was soon 
to sail for Mexico. Santa Anna was to be accompanied 
by Bailey Hardeman and Lorenzo De Zavala, commis- 
sioners from Texas to the Mexican government; these 
commissioners were kept waiting for their final instruc- 
tions until June 3. When the action of President Bur- 
net became known, a great cry of indignation rose from 
many of the soldiers and people. The delay made mat- 
ters worse, as about this time some two hundred vol- 
unteers from New Orleans arrived at Velasco ; they 
urged the Texans to demand from President Burnet the 
surrender of Santa Anna, and promised to assist in tak- 
ing the Dictator by force, if necessary. Excitement 
ran high. In vain the President tried to show them 
how the world would condemn the nation that violated 
its own treaty, and the benefits Texas might reason- 
ably hope from Santa Anna's return to Mexico. Threats 
were made against the President's life, but these did not 
move Burnet; it was only when compelled by the fear 
of a riot and danger to others that he ordered Santa 
Anna to disembark. The terrified prisoner, who felt 
sure he would be torn in pieces by the angry troops, re- 
fused to leave the vessel, and it was with the greatest 
difficulty that he was brought ashore and placed under 
a heavy guard. In August, Mexican friends conspired 
to release their chief, but the plot was discovered. From 
this time the Dictator led a hard life, being sent from 
place to place, now in irons, now without sufficient food, 
and often subjected to humiliations. 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 157 

Santa Anna Released.^ When Austin returned to 
Texas he visited Santa Anna and advised him to write 
a frank letter to President Andrew Jackson asking his 
help. The President sent a kind reply. Finally when 
Houston became President of Texas, he sent Santa Anna 
and his suite at their own request to the President of 
the United States at Washington. President Jackson 
received the fallen general courteously, and returned him 
to Mexico. Reaching home February, 1837, Santa Anna 
retired to his hacienda. The other Mexican officers, as 
well as the private soldiers captured at San Jacinto, 
were also released. 

Mexican Troops Withdrawn. — As soon as news was 
received of the defeat at San Jacinto, the Mexican army 
under Generals Filisola and Urrea began to retreat. Deaf 
Smith soon overtook the retiring forces and delivered 
the orders from Santa Anna. Filisola sent General Woll 
to the Texas camp under a flag of truce to obtain full 
instructions from Santa Anna. General Rusk detained 
him till a definite treaty should be drawn up. The Mexi- 
cans continued their retreat, suffering indescribable hard- 
ships. The treaty entered into by Santa Anna and Presi- 
dent Burnet was brought to Filisola near Goliad. He 
made haste to sign the document. The Mexicans con- 
tinued their march, till, gaunt and worn from hunger and 
fatigue, a miserable remnant of the once proud army 
reached the Texas frontier (June 18).^^ 

Women and Children Return Home. — After the vic- 
tory at San Jacinto General Houston sent out riders to tell 
the joyful tidings to the women and children still fleeing 
towards the Sabine River. Mothers clasped their children 
in fond embrace, fell upon their knees and thanked God 
that Texas was free and they might return home. (See 
page 181.) The Mexicans had left ruin in their trail, 



158 MISSION TO WASHINGTON [1836 

however. San Felipe, Gonzales, New Washington and 
Harrisburg were in ashes. Farm property of all kinds 
was destroyed. 

Commissioners. — In May (1836), President Burnet 
sent as special commissioners from the Republic of Texas 
to the United States, Peter W. Grayson and James Col- 
linsworth, who were to take the places of Austin, Archer 
and Wharton. These commissioners were to ask Con- 
gress to recognize Texas as a free and independent coun- 
try ; and they were also to state that it was the wish 
of their people that Texas be annexed to the United 
States. Before they reached Washington, Congress had 
adjourned; therefore they laid the entire question be- 
fore President Jackson and left it in his hands. Soon 
after. President Jackson sent Mr. Morfit to Texas with 
instructions to examine closely into all affairs of the 
country, and report as to the advisability of recognizing 
Texas as a Republic. Mr. Morfit advised that recogni- 
tion be delayed. 

Austin, Archer and Wharton returned home in June. 
They had been, as we have seen, successful in obtaining 
money and men to carry on the war ; their public speeches 
had done much to arouse a deep interest in Texas 
throughout all sections of the United States, which in- 
terest in time brought many earnest men and Women 
to settle in our midst. 

Texas Navy. — No account of the Texas Revolution 
is complete without some mention of the little navy that 
did such valiant service. The war-vessels were the " In- 
vincible," '' Brutus," " Independence " and " Liberty." 
They were specially useful in preventing the landing of 
vessels loaded with supplies for the Mexican armies. In 
April the " Invincible " attacked the Mexican schooner 
" Montezuma," and after a battle of two hours so dis- 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 159 

abled her that she was forced to run ashore. The " In- 
vincible " next captured the American brig " Pocket," 
which was loaded with provisions for the Mexicans. 
The supplies thus obtained were a timely prize for the 
Texans, as it was difficult for them to obtain sufficient 
food for themselves and their prisoners. 

The " Horse Marines." — Major Isaac W. Burton, 
with a squad of twenty mounted men, was bidden to 
patrol the coast to prevent the landing of any Mexican 
vessel. Seeing (June 2) a vessel in the bay (off Cop- 
ano), Major Burton concealed his men, and on the next 
day signaled the craft to send out a boat. No sooner 
did the boat reach the shore than the five Mexicans on 
board were seized, while sixteen Texans took their places, 
attacked and took possession of the vessel. From this 
time Major Burton and his men were laughingly called 
" The Horse Marines." 

Army in Readiness. — Many Texas soldiers returned 
home to care for their families, but their places were 
filled by volunteers from the United States. It was of 
vital importance that the army be kept ready for action, 
as Texas did not know whether Mexico would feel bound 
by Santa Anna's treaty; another Mexican army might, 
at any moment, invade the country. Yet, when the last 
of Santa Anna's soldiers crossed the Rio Grande, Texas 
breathed a deep sigh of relief and thanked God, for she 
felt that the Lone Star Republic was at last the " land 
of the free " as well as '' the home of the brave." 

SUMMARY OF ERA IV 

Mexico, suspicious that the United States and colonists in 
Texas were planning to take the province from her, passed a 
decree in 1830 forbidding Americans settling in Texas. 



l6o SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

The chief causes of the Texas Revolution were this decree, the 
refusal to separate Texas from Coahuila, the proposed settling 
of Mexican convicts in the province, the insolent tyranny of 
Mexican soldiers sent to collect taxes and the entire lack of 
sympathy between the Anglo-Saxon and Mexican races. 

An oflficer in the Mexican army, Captain Bradburn, closed ports 
and imprisoned without trial several colonists. The Texans pre- 
pared to resist. While waiting for cannon to be sent from 
Brazoria, they adopted the Turtle Bayou Resolutions (June, 
1832), declaring their loyalty to the Mexican constitution of 1824 
and to Santa Anna. Colonel Piedras removed Bradburn and 
granted justice to the Texans, but in the meantime the colo- 
nists won the battle of Velasco (June 1832). 

Colonel Mejia was sent to investigate Texas affairs. Austin 
went with him. Mejia returned a favorable report; he was 
specially pleased at Texas's devotion to Santa Anna, who was 
then the idol of the Mexican people. 

The first convention at San Felipe de Austin (Oct., 1832) 
asked Mexico for the repeal of part of the decree of 1830, the 
creation of Texas as a separate state and the free import of 
necessary articles for three years. The Mexican government 
was displeased at the convention and granted nothing. 

In January, 1833, Santa Anna was elected President. In 
April the second Texas convention at San Felipe met, repeated 
their requests and drew up a constitution for Texas as a dis- 
tinct Mexican state. Austin went to the capital to press Texas's 
claims. He found Santa Anna had for a time turned over the 
government to the Vice-President, who promised to repeal arti- 
cle XI. of the decree of 1830, but to do nothing more. On ac- 
count of letters written his people, Austin was arrested and 
imprisoned (February, 1834) as a traitor. When Santa Anna 
returned to office he heard from Austin and De Zavala the ap- 
peals of Texas. He granted the repeal of article XL of the 
decree, but refused separate statehood ; he ordered troops of 
Mexican soldiers to be stationed in Texas. Austin was still held 
prisoner. 

Santa Anna now made himself supreme ruler of Mexico, and 
ttie Constitutipn of 1824 became ^ dead letter. All state gov 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION l6l 

ernments were ordered to dissolve. Only Zacatecas, Coahuila 
and Texas failed to obey. Zacatecas was crushed May, 1835. 
Orders were issued to reduce the militia in Texas, to send a 
large Mexican force under General Cos to occupy the province 
and to arrest De Zavala and other patriots. 

Austin returned home August 31, 1835, the cause of his release 
not being known. 

A skirmish at Gonzales, the capture of Goliad, the battle of 
Concepcion and the storming of San Antonio under Milam all 
resulted in victories for the Texans. In November a provisional 
government was organized for Texas, with Governor Henry 
Smith and a Council to manage public affairs, but the Texans 
still pledged themselves to Mexico and the Constitution of 1824. 

The year 1836 opened with serious quarrels between Gov- 
ernor and council. An expedition against Matamoras, though 
opposed by Governor Smith, was ordered by the Council, but 
failed. Loans were secured in the United States and many 
volunteers joined the Texas army. 

The siege of the Alamo (February 23 to March 6) gave to his- 
tory the sentence, " Thermopylae had her messenger of defeat, 
but the Alamo had none." March 2, a convention at Washing- 
ton on the Brazos declared Texas a free and independent re- 
public. David G. Burnet was made President-ad-interim. The 
destruction of Grant and his men, of Johnson's soldiers at San 
Patricio (February), of King and his troops (March), the sur- 
render of Ward (March), the battle of the Coleto, the surren- 
der of Fannin and the awful massacre at Goliad (March 27) 
filled Texas with gloom. General Houston ordered the army to 
retreat before the on-marching Santa Anna, The great victory 
of the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21) and the 
capture of Santa Anna virtually ended the revolution. Santa 
Anna quickly aj-^reed to have hostilities cease at once, to send 
his troops across the border and to induce Mexico to recog- 
nize Texas independence: he was promised a safe return to 
Mexico, but was held prisoner for months and was finally sent 
to President Andrew Jackson at Wasljington, who gave him 
safe escort home. 



I62 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

See also " IVith the Makers of Texas," by Bolton and Barker, 
pages 159-218. 

" Texas" by Dr. George P. Garrison. 

Extract from Governor Smith's address to the people of 
Texas.— 

" Fellow Citizens of Texas: 

"The enemy are upon us. A strong force surrounds the 
walls of the Alamo and threatens that garrison with the sword. 
Our country imperiously demands the service of every patriotic 
arm, and longer to continue in a state of apathy will be crim- 
inal. Citizens of Texas ! descendants of Washington ! awake ! 
arouse yourselves ! The question is now to be decided : are we 
to continue freemen, or bow beneath the rod of military des- 
potism? Shall we, without a struggle, sacrifice our fortunes, 
our liberties, and our lives, or shall we imitate the example of 
our forefathers, and hurl destruction on the heads of our op- 
pressors? The eyes of the world are upon us! All friends of 
liberty and the rights of man are anxious spectators of our 
conflict, or are enlisted in our cause. Shall we disappoint their 
hopes and their expectations? No! Let us at once fly to arms, 
march to the battle-field, meet the foe, and give renewed evi- 
dence to the world that the arms of freemen, uplifted in defense 
of their liberties and rights, are irresistible. ' Now is the day 
and now is the hour ' that Texas expects every man to do his 
duty. Let us show ourselves worthy to be free, and we shall 
be free!" 



ERA IVJ • REVOLUTION 163 



THE UNANIMOUS 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

MADE BY THE 

DELEGATES OF THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS 

IN GENERAL CONVENTION 

AT THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON 

ON THE 2ND DAY OF MARCH 1836 

GEORGE C. CHILDRESS, AUTHOR. 

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty 
and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are 
derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was insti- 
tuted, and, so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of 
those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument 
in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression : When the Fed- 
eral Republican Constitution of their country, which they have 
sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the 
whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed, 
without their consent, from a restricted federated republic, com- 
posed of sovereign states, to a consolidated, central, military des- 
potism, in which every interest is disregarded but that of the 
army and the priesthood — both the eternal enemies of civil lib- 
erty, the ever-ready minions of power, an"d the usual instruments 
of tyrants: When, long after the spirit of the constitution has 
departed, moderation is, at length, so far lost by those in power 
that even the semblance of freedom is removed, and the forms, 
themselves, of the constitution discontinued ; and so far from 
their petitions and remonstrances being regarded the agents who 
bear them are thrown into dungeons ; and mercenary armies sent 
forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the 
bayonet: When in consequence of such acts of malfeasance and 
abdication, on the part of the government, anarchy prevails, and 
civil society is dissolved into its original elements. In such a 
crisis, the first law of nature, the right of self-preservation — the 
inherent and inalienable right of the people to appeal to first 
principles and take their political affairs into their own hands in 
extreme cases — enjoins it as a right towards themselves and a 
sacred obligation to their posterity to abolish such government 



l64 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

and create another, in its stead, calculated to rescue them from 
impending dangers, and to secure their future welfare and happi- 
ness. 

Nations, as well as individuals, are amenable for their acts to 
the public opinion of mankind. A statement of a part of our 
grievances is, therefore, submitted to an impartial world, in 
justification of the hazardous but unavoidable step now taken of 
severing our political connection with the Mexican people, and 
assuming an independent attitude among the nations of the earth. 

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and 
induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its 
wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution that 
they should continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and re- 
publican government to which they had been habituated in the 
land of their birth, the United States of America. In this ex- 
pectation they have been cruelly disappointed, inasmuch as the 
Mexican nation has acquiesced in the "late changes made in the 
government by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who, hav- 
ing overturned the constitution of his country, now ofTers us 
the cruel alternative either to abandon our homes, acquired by so 
many privations, or submit to the most intolerable of all tyranny, 
the combined despotism of the sword and the priesthood. 

It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila, by which 
our interests have been continually depressed through a jealous 
and partial course of legislation carried on at a far distant seat 
of government, by a hostile majority, in an unknown tongue; 
and this too, notwithstanding we have petitioned in the humblest 
terms, for the establishment of a separate state government, and 
have, in accordance with the provisions of the national constitu- 
tion, presented to the general Congress a republican constitution 
which was, without just cause contemptuously rejected. 

It incarcerated in a dungeon, for a long time, one of our citi- 
zens, for no other cause but a zealous endeavor to procure the 
acceptance of our constitution and the establishment of a state 
government. 

It has failed, and refused to secure, on a firm basis, the right 
of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe 
guarantee fqr the life, liberty, and property of the citizen. 

It has failed to establish any public system of education, al- 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 165 

chough possessed of almost boundless resources (the public do- 
main) and, although, it is an axiom, in political science, that un- 
less a people are educated and enlightened it is idle to expect 
the continuance of civil liberty, or the capacity for self-govern- 
ment. 

It has suffered the military commandants stationed among us 
to exercise arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny ; thus tramp- 
ling upon the most sacred rights of the citizen and rendering the 
military superior to the civil power. 

It has dissolved by force of arms, the State Congress of Coa- 
huila and Texas, and obliged our representatives to fly for their 
lives from the seat of government ; thus depriving us of the fun- 
damental political right of representation. 

It has demanded the surrender of a number of our citizens, 
and ordered military detachments to seize and carry them into 
the interior for trial; in contempt of the civil authorities, and in 
defiance of the laws and the constitution. 

It has made piratical attacks upon our commerce, by commis- 
sioning foreign desperadoes, and authorizing them to seize our 
vessels, and convey the property of our citizens to far distant 
ports for confiscation. 

It denies us the right of worshipping the Almighty accord- 
ing to the dictates of our own conscience; by the support of a 
national religion calculated to promote the temporal interests of 
its human functionaries rather than the glory of the true and 
living God. 

It has demanded us to deliver up our arms, which are essential 
to our defense, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable 
only to tyrannical governments. 

It has invaded our country, both by sea and by land, with in- 
tent to lay waste our territory and drive us from our homes ; and 
has now a large mercenary army advancing to carry on against 
us a war of extermination. 

It has, through its emissaries, incited the merciless savage, with 
the tomahawk and scalping knife, to massacre the inhabitants of 
our defenseless frontiers. 

It hath been, during the whole time of our connection with it, 
the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolu- 
tions, and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a 
weak, corrupt, and tyrannical government. 



l66 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

These, and other grievances, were patiently borne by the peo- 
ple of Texas until they reached that point at which forbearance 
ceased to be a virtue. We then took up arms in defence of the 
national constitution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for 
assistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though months 
have elapsed, no sympathetic response has yet been heard from 
the Interior. We are, therefore, forced to the melancholy con- 
clusion that the Mexican people have acquiesced in the destruc- 
tion of their liberty, and the substitution therefor of a military 
government — that they are unfit to be free and are incapable of 
self-government. 

The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now decrees our 
eternal political separation. 

We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary powers, of the peo- 
ple of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a 
candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby 
resolve and declare that our political connection with the Mex- 
ican nation has forever ended ; and that the people of Texas 
do now constitute a free sovereign and independent republic, and 
are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which prop- 
erly belong to independent nations ; and, conscious of the recti- 
tude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the 
issue to the decision of the Supreme Arbiter of the destinies of 
nations. 






ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



167 






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i68 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 








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yU^/^t^^ 



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cZa: ^y^,,j^ j^ 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 169 

Letter from Santa Anna to Filisola, General of Division. — 

" Army of Operations, 
" Camp at San Jacinto, April 22, 1836. 
''His Excellency, Don Vicente Filisola, General of Division: 

" Excellent Sir : — Having yesterday evening, with the small 
division under my immediate command, had an encounter with 
the enemy which, notwithstanding I had previously taken all pos- 
sible precautions, proved unfortunate, 1 am, in consequence, a 
prisoner in the hands of the enemy. Under these circumstances 
your Excellency will order General Guano, with his division, to 
countermarch to Bexar and wait for orders. Your Excellency 
will also, with the division under your command, march to the 
same place. The division under command of General Urrea will 
retire to Guadalupe Victoria. I have agreed with General Hous- 
ton for an armistice, until matters can be so regulated that the 
war will cease forever. 

*' Your Excellency will take proper steps for the support of 
the army, which, from this time, remains under your command, 
using the moneys lately arrived from Matamoras, the provisions 
on hand there, as well as in Victoria, and also the twenty thou- 
sand dollars withdrawn from Bexar, and now in that treasury. 

"I hope your Excellency will, without failure, comply with 
these dispositions — advising me, by return of the couriers, that 
you have already commenced their execution. God and Liberty. 
"Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna." 

Extracts from General Houston's official report of the Bat- 
tle of San Jacinto. — See Quarterly of the Texas State His- 
torical Association, April, 1901.] 

" Headquarters of the Army, 

" San Jacinto, April 25, 1836. 
" To His Excellency, David G. Burnet, President of the Republic 

of Texas: 

" Sir : — I regret extremely that my situation, since the battle 
of the 21 st, has been such as to prevent my rendering you my 
official report of the same previous to this time. 

" I have the honor to inform you that on the evening of the 
i8th inst., after a forced march of fifty-five miles, the army ar- 
rived opposite Harrisburg. That evening a courier of the enemy 



170 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

was taken, from whom I learned that General Santa Anna, with 
one division of choice troops, had marched in the direction of 
Lyruch's Ferry on the San Jacinto, burning Harrisburg as he 
passed down. 

" The army was ordered to be in readiness to march early 
on the next morning. The main body effected a crossing over 
Buffalo Bayou, below Harrisburg, on the morning of the 19th, 
having left the baggage, the sick, and a sufficient camp guard 
in the rear. We continued to march throughout the night, mak- 
ing but one halt in the prairie for a short time, and without 
refreshments. At daylight we resumed the line of march. In 
a short distance our scouts encountered those of the enemy, 
and we received information that General Santa Anna was at 
New Washington, and would that day take up the line of march 
for Anahuac, crossing at Lynch's Ferry. The Texan army 
halted within half a mile of the ferry in some timber and were 
engaged in slaughtering beeves, when the army of Santa Anna 
was discovered approaching in battle array. . . . 

"About 9 o'clock on the morning of the 21st the enemy were 
reinforced by five hundred choice troops, under the command of 
General Cos; increasing their effective force to upwards of fif- 
teen hundred men, whilst our aggregate force for the field num- 
bered seven hundred and eighty-three. 

" At half-past 3 o'clock in the evening I ordered the officers 
of the Texan army to parade their respective commands, having 
in the meantime ordered the bridge on the only road com- 
municating with the Brazos, distant eight miles from our en- 
campment, to be destroyed, thus cutting off all possibility of 
escape. Our troops paraded with alacrity and spirit, and were 
anxious for the contest. The conscious disparity in numbers 
seemed only to increase their enthusiasm and confidence, and 
heighten their anxiety for the conflict. . . . 

" Our cavalry was first dispatched to the front of the enemy's 
left, for the purpose of attracting notice, whilst an extensive 
island of timber afforded us an opportunity of concentrating our 
forces and deploying from that point. Every evolution was 
performed with alacrity, the whole advancing rapidly in line 
and through an open prairie, without any protection whatever 
for our men. The artillery advanced and took station within 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 17I 

two hundred yards of the enemy's breastwork, and commenced 
an effective fire with grape and cannister. 

" Colonel Sherman with his regiment having commenced the 
action upon our left wing, the whole line advancing in double- 
quick time, rung the war cry, " Remember the Alamo ! " received 
the enemy's fire, and advanced within point blank shot before a 
piece was discharged from our lines. 

" The conflict lasted about eighteen minutes from the time 
of close action until we were in possession of the enemy's en- 
campment. We took one piece of cannon (loaded), four stands 
of colors, all their camp equipage, stores, and baggage. Our 
cavalry had charged and routed that of the enemy upon the 
right, and given pursuit to the fugitives, which did not cease un- 
til they arrived at the bridge which I had mentioned. . . . 
The conflict in the breastwork lasted but a few moments. Many 
of the troops encountered hand to hand, and not having the 
advantage of bayonets on our side, our riflemen used their pieces 
as war clubs, breaking many of them off at the breech. 

" The rout commenced at half-past four, and the pursuit by 
the main army continued until twilight. A guard was then left 
in charge of the enemy's encampment, and our army returned 
with their killed and wounded. In the battle our loss was two 
killed and twenty-three wounded, six of them mortally. The 
enemy's loss was six hundred and thirty killed . . . ; wounded, 
two hundred and eight . . . ; prisoners, seven hundred and 
thirty. 

" About six hundred muskets, three hundred sabres and two 
hundred pistols have been collected since the action. Several 
hundred mules and horses were taken, and near twelve thou- 
sand dollars in specie. . . . We should not withhold the 
tribute of our grateful thanks from that Being who rules the 
destinies of nations, and has in the time of greatest need enabled 
"us to arrest a powerful invader, whilst devastating our country. 

"I have the honor to be, with high consideration. 
Your obedient servant, 

Sam Houston, 
Commander-in-Chief. 



172 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

Extracts from Santa Anna's Report of the Battle of San 
Jacinto to the Minister of War and Marine, dated March ii, 
1837. — Texas Quarterly, April, 1901, p. 264.) 

" The morning of the 19th, I sent Captain Barragan, 
with some dragoons, to a point on the Lynchburg road, three 
leagues distant from New Washington, in order that he should 
watch and communicate to me, as speedily as possible, the ar- 
rival of Houston: and, on the 20th, at eight o'clock in the 
morning, he informed me that Houston had just got to Lynch- 
burg. It was with the greatest joy that all the individuals be- 
longing to the corps, then under my immediate orders, heard 
the news. 

"At my arrival, Houston was in possession of a wood on the 
margin of Buffalo bayou, which, at that point, empties itself into 
the San Jacinto creek. His situation rendered it indispensable 
to light; and my troops manifested so much enthusiasm, that I 
immediately began the battle. Houston answered our firing, but 
refused to come out of the cover of the wood. I wished to 
draw him into a field of battle suited to miy purpose, and in 
consequence withdrew about one thousand yards distant, to an 
eminence affording a favorable position, with abundance of water 
on my rear, a thick wood on my right, and a large plain on my 
left. Upon my executing this movement, the enemy's fire in- 
creased, particularly that of his artillery. . . . About one 
hundred cavalry sallied out of the wood, and boldly attacked my 
escort, which was posted on the left, causing it to fall back for 
a few moments and wounding a dragoon. I commanded two 
companies of cazadores to attack them, and they succeeded in 
repelling them into the wood. 

" It was now five in the evening, and our troops wanted rest 
and refreshment, which I permitted them to take. Thus was 
the remainder of the day spent. We lay on our arms all night, 
during which I occupied myself in posting my forces to the 
best advantage, and procuring the construction of a parapet to 
cover the position of our cannon. I had posted three companies 
in the wood on our right, the permanent battalion of Matamoras 
formed our body of battle in the centre, and on our left was 
placed, the cannon, protected by the cavalry, and a column of 
■ select companies . . ., which composed the reserve. 

" On the 21 St, at nine in the morning. General Cos arrived, with 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 173 

four hundred men, . . . having left one hundred men under 
the orders of Colonel Muriano Garcia, with their loads in a 
swampy place near Harrisburg; and these never joined me. I 
then saw that my orders had been contravened; for I had asked 
five hundred select infantry, and they sent me raw recruits, who 
had joined the army at San Luis Potosi and Saltillo.. I 
was highly displeased with this act of disobedience, and consid- 
ered the new reinforcement as trifling, whereas I had before its 
arrival entertained well-founded hopes of gaining some decisive 
advantage zvifh the new succor, which was to have given me the 
superiority of numbers. I disposed myself, however, to take ad- 
vantage of the favorable disposition which I had perceived in our 
soldiers on the arrival of General Cos ; but the latter represented 
to me that having made a forced march in order to reach my 
camp early, his troops had neither eaten nor slept during twenty- 
four hours, and that while the baggage was coming up, which it 
would do within two more hours, it was indispensable to grant 
some refreshment to the soldiers. I consented to it, but in order 
to keep a watch over the enemy and protect the said baggage, 
I posted my escort in a favorable place, reinforcing it with thirty- 
two infantry, mounted on officers' horses. Hardly one hour had 
elapsed since that operation, when General Cos begged me, in 
the name of Don Miguel Aguirre, the commander of the escort, 
that I would permit his soldiers to water their horses, which 
had not drunk for twenty-four hours, and let the men take some 
refreshment. Being moved by the pitiable tone in which this re- 
quest was made, I consented, commanding at the time that 
Aguirre and his men should return to occupy their position as 
soon as they should have satisfied their necessities ; and his dis- 
obedience to this order concurred to favor the surprise which 
the enemy effected. 

" Feeling myself exceedingly fatigued from having spent the 
whole morning on horseback, and the preceding night without 
sleep, I lay down under the shade of some trees, while the sol- 
diers were preparing their meal. Calling General Castrillon, 
who acted as major-general, I recommended him to be watchful 
and to give me notice of the least movement of the enemy, and 
also to inform me when the repast of the soldiers would be over, 
because it was urgent to act in a decisive manner. 

" I was in a deep sleep when I was awakened by the firing 



174 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

and noise; I immediately perceived we were attacked, and had 
fallen into frightful disorder. The enemy had surprised our ad- 
vance posts. One of their wings had driven away the three com- 
panies . . . posted in the wood on our right, and from among 
the trees were now doing much execution with their rifles. The 
rest of the enemy's infantry attacked us in front with two pieces 
of cannon, and their cavalry did the same on our right. 

"Although the mischief was already done, I thought I could 
repair it, and with that view sent the battalion of Aldama to 
reinforce the line of battle formed by that of Matamoras, and 
organized a column of attack under the orders of Don Miguel 
Cespedes, composed of the permanent battalion of Guerrero, 
and the piquets of Toluca and Guadalaxara, which moved to 
the front with the company of Lieutenant-Colonel Luelmo, in 
order to check the advance of the enemy; but my efforts were 
vain. The line was abandoned by the two battalions that were 
covering it; and notwithstanding the fire of our cannon, the 
two columns were thrown into disorder, Colonel Cespedes being 
wounded and Colonel Luelmo killed. General Castrillon, who 
ran to and fro to reestablish order in our ranks, fell mortally 
wounded ; and the new recruits threw everything into confusion, 
breaking their ranks and preventing the veterans from making 
use of their arms, whilst the enemy was rapidly advancing 
with loud hurrahs, and in a few minutes obtained a victory which 
they could not, some hours before, even have dreamed of. 

" All hopes being lost, and every one flying as fast as he could, 
I found myself in the greatest danger, when a servant of my 
aide-de-camp. Colonel Don Juan Bringas, offered me his horse, 
and with the tenderest and most urging expressions insisted 
upon my riding off the field. I looked for my escort, and 
two dragoons, who were hurriedly saddling their horses, told 
me that their officers and fellow-soldiers had all made their 
escape. I remembered that General Filisola was only seventeen 
leagues off, and I took my direction towards him, darting through 
the enemy's ranks. They pursued me, and after a ride of one 
league and a half, overtook me on the banks of a large creek, 
the bridge over which was burned by the enemy to retard our 
pursuit. I alighted from my horse and with much difficulty suc- 
ceeded m concealing myself in a thicket of dwarf pines. Night 
coming on, I escaped them, and the hope of reaching the army 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 175 

gave me strength. I crossed the creek with the water up to 
my breast and continued my route on foot. I found, in a house 
which had been abandoned, some articles of clothing, which en- 
abled me to change my apparel. At eleven o'clock a. m., while 
I was crossing a large plain, my pursuers overtook me again. 
Such is the history of my capture. On account of my change 
of apparel, they did not recognize me, and inquired whether I 
had seen Santa Anna? To this I answered that he had made 
his escape ; and this answer saved me from assassination, as I 
have since been given to understand." 

Extracts from Colonel Delgado*s Account of the Battle of 
San Jacinto. — (Colonel Delgado was a Mexican officer.) [See 
Bolton and Barker's " With the Makers of Texas," page 193.] 

"At daybreak on the 21st, His Excellency (Santa Anna) or- 
dered a breastwork to be erected for the cannon. It was con- 
structed with pack-saddles, sacks of hard bread, baggage, etc. 
A trifling barricade of branches ran along its front and right. 

" At 9 o'clock a. m. General Cos came in with reinforcements 
of about 500 men. His arrival was greeted with the roll of 
drums and with joyful shouts. As it was represented to His 
Excellency that these men had not slept the night before, he in- 
structed them, to stack their arms, to remove their accoutre- 
ments, and to go to sleep quietly in the adjoining grove. 

"No important incident took place until 4:30 p. m. At this 
fatal moment, the bugler on our right signaled the advance of 
the enemy upon that wing. His Excellency and staff were asleep ; 
the greater number of the men were also sleeping; of the rest, 
some were eating, others were scattered in the woods in search 
of boughs to prepare shelter. Our line was com.posed of musket 
stacks. Our cavalry were riding, bareback, to and from water. 

" I stepped upon some ammunition boxes, the better to ob- 
serve the movements of the enemy. I saw that their formatton 
was a mere line in one rank, and very extended. In their cen- 
ter was the Texas flag; on both wings, they had two light can- 
nons, well manned. Their cavalry was opposite our front, over- 
lapping our left. 

" In this disposition, yelling furiously, with a brisk fire of 
grape, muskets, and rifles, they advanced resolutely upon" our 
camp. There the utmost confusion prevailed. General Castrillon 



176 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

shouted on one side ; on another Colonel Almonte was giving or- 
ders ; some cried out to commence firing; others to lie down to 
avoid grape shots. Among the latter was His Excellency. 

" Then, already, I saw our men flying in small groups, terri- 
fied, and sheltering themselves behind large trees. I endeavored 
to force some of them to fight, but all efforts were in vain — 
the evil was beyond remedy ; they were a bewildered and panic- 
stricken herd. 

" Then I saw His Excellency running about in the utmost ex- 
citement, wringing his hands, and unable to give an order. Gen- 
eral Castrillon was stretched on the ground, wounded in the 
leg. Colonel Trevino was killed, and Colonel Marcial Aguirre 
was severely injured. I saw also the e.nemy reaching the ord- 
nance train, and killing a corporal and two gunners who had 
been detailed to repair cartridges which had been damaged on 
the previous evening. 

"Everything being lost, I went — leading my horse, which I 
could not mount, because the firing had rendered him restless 
and fractious — to join our men, still hoping that we might be 
able to defend ourselves, or to retire under the shelter of night. 
This, however, could not be done. It is a known fact that Mex- 
ican soldiers, once demoralized, can not be controlled, unless they 
are thoroughly inured to war. 

" On the left, and about a musket-shot distance from our camp, 
was a small grove on the bay shore. Our disbanded herd rushed 
for it, to obtain shelter from the horrid slaughter carried on 
all over the prairie by the bloodthirsty usurpers. Unfortunately, 
we met on our way an obstacle very difficult to overcome. It 
was a bayou, not very wide, but rather deep. The men, on 
reaching it, would helplessly crowd together, and were shot down 
by the enemy, who was close enough not to miss his aim. It 
was there that the greatest carnage took place. 

" Upon reaching that spot, I saw Colonel Almonte swimming 
across the bayou with his left hand, and holding up his right, 
which grasped his sword. 

" I stated before that I was leading my horse, but, in this 
critical situation, I vaulted on him, and, with two leaps, he landed 
me on the opposite bank of the bayou. To my sorrow I had to 
leave the noble animal, mired, at that place, and to part with 
him, probably forever. As I dismounted, I sank in the mire 



ERA IVJ REVOLUTION 177 

waist deep, and I had the greatest trouble to get out of it, by- 
taking hold of the grass. Both my shoes remained in the 
bayou. I made an effort to recover them, but I soon came to 
the conclusion that, did I tarry there, a rifle shot would certainly 
make an outlet for my soul, as had happened to many a poor 
fellow around me. Thus I made for the grove, barefooted. 

'* There I met a number of other officers, with whom I wan- 
dered at random, buried in gloomy thoughts upon our tragic dis- 
aster. We still entertained a hope of rallying some of our men, 
but it was impossible. 

" The enemy's cavalry surrounded the grove, while his in- 
fantry penetrated it, pursuing us with fierce and bloodthirsty 
feelings. Thence they marched us to their camp." 

Joel W. Robinson's Story of the Capture of Santa Anna.— . 

(Bolton and Barker's "With the Makers of Texas," page 198.) 
" I was one of a detachment of thirty or forty men commanded 
by Colonel Burleson, which left the encampment of the Texas 
army at sunrise of the morning after the battle of San Jacinto, 
to pursue the fugitive enemy. Most of us were mounted on 
horses captured from the Mexicans. ... 

" Colonel Burleson with the greater part of our detachment 
went up to Vince's Bayou — but six of us, to wit, Sylvester, 
Miles, Vermillion, Thompson, another man whose name I have 
forgotten [Bostwick], and myself, proceeded a short distance 
farther down the bayou, but, not finding any Mexicans, turned 
our course toward camp. About two miles east of Vince's 
Bayou, the road leading from the bridge to the battle-ground 
crossed a ravine a short distance below its source. As we ap- 
proached this ravine we discovered a man standing in the prairie 
near one of the groves. He was dressed in citizen's clothing, 
a blue cottonade frock coat and pantaloons. I was the only 
one of our party who spoke any Spanish. I asked the prisoner 
various questions, which he answered readily. In reply to the 
question whether he knew where Santa Anna and Cos were, 
he said he presumed they had gone to the Brazos. He said 
he was not aware that there were any of his countrymen con- 
cealed near him, but said there might be in the thicket along the 
ravine. 
"Miles mounted the prisoner on his horse and walked as far 



178 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

as the road — about a mile. Here he ordered the prisoner to 
dismount, which he did with great reUictance. He walked slowly 
and apparently with pain. Miles, who was a rough, reckless fel- 
low, was carrying a Mexican lance which he had picked up dur- 
ing the morning. With this weapon he occasionally slightly 
pricked the prisoner to quicken his pace, which sometimes 
amounted to a trot. At length he stopped and begged permis- 
sion to ride — saying that he belonged to the cavalry and was 
imaccustomed to walking. We paused and deliberated as to 
what should be done with him. 1 asked him if he would go on 
to our army if left to travel at his leisure. He replied that he 
would. Miles insisted that the prisoner should be left behind, 
but said that if he were left, he would kill him. 

" At length my compassion for the prisoner moved me to 
mount him behind me. I also took charge of his bundle. He 
was disposed to converse as we rode along ; asked me many 
questions, the first of which was, ' Did General Houston com- 
mand in person in the action of yesterday?' He also asked 
how many prisoners we had taken and what we were going to do 
with them. When, in answer to an inquiry, I informed him that 
the Texan force in the battle of the preceding day was less than 
eight hundred men, he said I was surely mistaken — that our 
force was certainly much greater. In turn, I plied the prisoner 
with divers questions. I remember asking him why he came 
to Texas to fight against us, to which he replied that he was 
a private soldier, and was bound to obey his officers. I asked 
him if he had a family. He replied in the affirmative, but when 
I inquired, ' Do you expect to see them again ? ' his only an- 
swer was a shrug of the shoulders. 

"We rode to that part of the camp where the prisoners were 
kept, in order to deliver our trooper to the guard. What was 
our astonishment, as we approached the guard, to hear the pris- 
oners exclaiming, 'El Presidente! El Presidente ! ' (The Presi- 
dent, the President!) by which we were made aware that we 
had unwittingly captured the * Napoleon of the West.' The 
news spread almost instantaneously through our camp, and we 
had scarcely dismounted ere we were surrounded by an excited 
crowd. Some of our officers immediately took charge of the 
illustrious captive and conducted him to the tent of General 
Houston." 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION 179 

The Runaway Scrape: Extracts from Journal of Mrs. 
Dilue Harris. — (Quarterly Texas State Historical Associa- 
tion, October, 1900-Janiiary, igoi.) 

" The people had been in a state of excitement during the win- 
ter. They knew that Colonel Travis had but few men to de- 
fend San Antonio. I remember when his letter came calling 
for assistance. He was surrounded by a large army, with 
General Santa Anna in command, and had been ordered to sur- 
render, but fought till the last man died. I was nearly eleven 
years old, and remember well the hurry and confusion. 

" By the 20th of February the people of San Patricio and other 
western settlements were fleeing for their lives. . . . Father 
finished planting corn. He had hauled away a part of our house- 
hold furniture and other things and hid them in the bottom. 
Mother had packed what bedding, clothes, and provisions she 
thought we should need, ready to leave at a moment's warn- 
ing, and father had made arrangements with a Mr. Bundick to 
haul our family in his cart. But we were confident that the 
army under General Houston would whip the Mexicans before 
they reached the Colorado River. 

" On the I2th of March came the news of the fall of the Alamo. 
A courier brought a dispatch from General Houston for the 
people to leave. Colonel Travis and the men under his command 
had been slaughtered. The Texas army was retreating, and Pres- 
ident Burnet's cabinet had gone to Harrisburg. 

"Then began the horrors of the 'Runaway Scrape.' We left 
home at sunset, hauling clothes, bedding, and provisions on the 
sleigh with one yoke of oxen. Mother and I were walking, she 
with an infant in her arms. Brother drove the oxen, and my 
two little sisters rode in the sleigh. We were going ten miles 
to where we could be transferred to Mr. Bundick's cart. 

" We met Mrs. M. She was driving her oxen home. We had 
sent her word in the morning. She begged mother to go back 
and help her, but father said no. He told the lady to drive the 
oxen home, put them in the cow pen, turn out the cows and 
calves, and get her children ready, and he would send assist- 
ance. 

" We went On to Mrs. Roark's, and met five families ready to 
leave. We shifted our things into the cart of Mr. Bundick, who 
was waiting for us, and tried to rest till morning, Sister and I 
had been weeping all day about Colonel Travis, 



l8o SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

" Early next morning we were on the move, mother with her 
four children in the cart, and Mr. Bundick and his wife and 
negro woman on horseback. We camped the first night near 
Harrisburg, about where the railroad depot now stands. Next 
day we crossed Vince's Bridge, and arrived at the San Jacinto 
in the night. There were fully five thousand people at the 
ferry. . . . Father and Mr. Bundick were the only white 
men in the party, the others being in the army. There were 
twenty or thirty negroes from Stafford's plantation. They had 
a large wagon with five yoke of oxen, and horses and mules, 
and they were in charge of an old negro man called Uncle 
Ned. Altogether, black and white, there were about fifty of 
us. Every one was trying to cross first, and it was almost a riot. 

" We got over the third day, and after traveling a few miles 
came to a big prairie. It was about twelve miles further to the 
next timber and water, and some of our party wanted to camp ; 
but others said that the Trinity River was rising, and if we de- 
layed we might not get across. So we hurried on. 

" When we got half way across the prairie Uncle Ned's wagon 
bogged. . . . The negro men put all the oxen to the wagon, 
but could not move it ; so they had to stay there until morning 
without wood or water. Mother gathered the white children 
in our cart. They behaved very well and went to sleep, except 
one little boy, who kicked and cried till Uncle Ned came and 
carried him to the wagon. He slept that night in Uncle Ned's 
arms. 

" The horrors of crossing the Trinity are beyond my powers to 
describe. One of my little sisters was very sick, and the ferry- 
man said that those families that had sick children should cross 
first. When our party got to the boat the water broke over the 
banks above where we were and ran around us. We were sev- 
eral hours surrounded by water. Our family was the last to get 
to the boat. The sick child was in convulsions. 

" When we landed the lowlands were under water, and every- 
body was rushing for the prairie. Father and mother hurried 
on, and we got to the prairie and found a great many families 
camped there. A Mrs. Foster invited mother to her camp, and 
furnished us with supper, a bed, and dry clotlies. . . . 

" The town of Liberty was three miles from where we camped. 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION l8l 

The people there had not left their homes, and they gave us all 
the help in their power. My little sister that had been sick 
died and was buried in the cemetery at Liberty. After resting 
a few days our party continued their journey, but we remained in 
the town. 

" We had been at Liberty three weeks, when one -Thursday 
afternoon we heard a sound like distant thunder. When it was 
repeated, father said that it was cannon, and that the Texans and 
Mexicans were fighting. He had been through the war of 1812, 
and knew that it was a battle. The cannonading lasted only a 
few minutes, and father said the Texans must have been de- 
feated, or the cannon would not have ceased firing so quickly. 
We left Liberty in half an hour. 

" We traveled nearly all night. ... We were as wretched 
as we could be ; for we had been five weeks from home, and 
there was not much prospect of our ever returning. We had not 
heard a word 'from brother, mother was sick. 

" Our journey continued through mud and water, and when we 
camped in the evening fifty or sixty young men came by who 
were going to join General Houston. . . . 

" Suddenly we heard some one calling from the direction of 
Liberty. We could see that it was a man on horseback, waving 
his hat ; and, as we knew there was no one left at Liberty, we 
thought the Mexicans had crossed the Trinity. The young men 
seized their guns, but when the rider got near enough for us to 
understand what he said, it was, ' Turn back ! The Texans have 
whipped the Mexican army and the Mexicans are prisoners! No 
danger ! No danger ! Turn back ! ' When he reached camp 
he could scarcely speak, he was so excited and out of breath. 

" The man showed father a dispatch from General Houston, 
giving an account of the battle and saying that it would be safe 
for the people to return to their homes. ... He was an 
Irishman and had once been an actor. During the night he told 
many incidents of the battle, as well as of the retreat of the 
Texan army, and he acted them so well that there was little 
sleeping in camp that night. The first time that mother laughed 
after the death of my little sister was at his description of Gen- 
eral Houston's helping to get a cannon out of the bog." 



l82 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



HISTORICAL, RECREATIONS 

(i) A Lyceum Meeting — the programme of which shall 
consist entirely of matter relating to Texas history. March ist 
or April 20th, the days preceding our spring holidays, would be 
the most appropriate time. A special effort should be made to 
induce the parents to be present. 

(2) Debates. — Resolved: That Santa Anna should have been 
tried by court-martial and, if found guilty, publicly executed. 

Resolved: That it is the right and the duty of the State to ap- 
propriate public money to erect monuments over her dead heroes. 

Resolved: That Texas may with justice be accused of ingrati- 
tude toward her distinguished dead. 

(3) Conversation Topics. — Who is your favorite character 
among the men of this era? Why? 

What is the most heroic act described in this era? The most 
despicable act? 

Are the Texans of to-day as brave as those of '35 and '2>^1 

(4) Let one or two pupils write the names of a number of 
noted Texans on separate slips of paper, and place these slips 
in a hat. One pupil then draws a slip, reads the name, and tells 
what he can of the person ; if, when he has finished, no one 
wishes to add anything concerning the person, he keeps the slip, 
but if another pupil supplies anything omitted by the first 
speaker, then the last speaker takes the slip. This is continued 
until all the class have been called upon to draw a name; the one 
holding the greatest number of slips is declared victor. 

(5) History Match. — The leader on one side calls out a 
name, as " Fannin " ; the leader on the other side answers by 
naming some historical event with which Fannin was connected, 
as the " Massacre of Goliad." The second leader then gives 
a name, and so the exercise is continued. If a pupil gives a 
name already mentioned he must take his seat. 

(6) Imagine yourself to be a Mexican captured at San Jacinto; 
write a letter to your family telling of the battle, of your cap- 
ture, of your fears as to your treatment, and whether these fears 
were realized. 



ERA IV] REVOLUTION ' 183 

(7) Write a letter from a Texas soldier to a friend in Georgia 
describing the capture of Santa Anna; picture the joy and ex- 
citement that prevailed among the army, and state what you 
expect will be done with him. 

(8) Let each pupil memorize and recite his favorite passage 
from the extracts given. 



SEAKCH QUESTIONS 

Who called himself the "Napoleon of the West?" 

What is a grito? (See note 5, Era IV.) 

Who gave up his home as a hospital for the sick and wounded 
Texans? 

Name all the towns you can that bear the names of noted 
Texans? 

What is a hacienda? 

What famous Texan lived to be 83 years old ? 

Who allowed himself to be held captive by his own men and 
officers? 

What holidays has a Texas school-boy that a Virginia school- 
boy does not have? 

Who are the "Daughters of the Republic?" 

Who was Farias? 

Can you name any living descendants of the heroes of the 
Texas Revolution? 

Why was Austin imprisoned? 

Whom do you blame for the massacre at Goliad? 

Who resigned the governorship of a state and went to live 
among the Indians? 

When did a general take the gunner's place in firing a cannon? 

Why was Mexico unwilling to sell Texas? 

What public man was killed by the accidental discharge of his 
own pistol? 

Who said : " I'd rather measure deer tracks than tape " ? 

To whom does the Alamo belong? 

Whose property is the battle-field of San Jacinto? 

What and where were Zacatecas, Copano, Tamaulipas, Coleto, 
Concepcion, Matamoras, Harrisburg, and San Jacinto? 

How long did the Texas Revolution continue? 



i84 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



Where is Milam's grave? Is there a monument in his honor? 

What is meant by " The Grays " ? " The Twin Sisters " ? 

Who was " the hero of 30 battles, who was never known to 
retreat " ? 

Why was the "Grass Fight" so called? 

Give names and inscriptions on the old Alamo monument. 

Who felt that the Lord had called him to be ?. member of Con- 
gress ? 

The portraits of what revolutionary heroes are in our Capitol? 

Name five Mexican commanders. 

Name ten Texas commanders. 

What is Palm Sunday? What horrible event happened on 
that day? 

Who first raised the cry : " Remember the Alamo " ? 

CHRONOLOGICAL SIMMARY 



1830. I, — Decree, forbidding Americans to settle in Texas 

(April 6). 

1831. I. — Bradburn's tyranny. 
2. — Ports blockaded. 

3. — Texans meet at Brazoria. 

1832. I. — Santa Anna pronounces against Bustamante. 
2. — Bradburn imprisons colonists. 

3. — ^ Turtle Bayou Resolutions (June 13). 
4. — Battle of Velasco (June). 
5. — General Mejia sent to Texas (June). 
6. — Convention at San Felipe (October). 
7. — Pedrazo made President by Bustamante and Santa 
Anna (December). 

1833. I. — Second Convention at San Felipe (April). 

2. — Austin goes to Mexico to present the Memorial. 
3. — Santa Anna becomes President. 
4. — Austin imprisoned. 

1834. I- — The decree of 1830 repealed. 
2. — Santa Anna becomes Dictator. 

^835. I.— De Zavala takes refuge in Texas. 
2. — Troubles at Anahuac. 
3. — General Cos enters Texas. 
4. — Austin returns to Texas. 



ERA IV] 



REVOLUTION 



185 



10 

II 

12 
13 

14 
1836. I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7. 
8, 
9 
10 
II 
12 
13 
14 
15 



— Skirmish at Gonzales (October 2). 

— Capture of Goliad. 

— Battle of Concepcion (October 28). 

— General Consultation (November 3). 

— Henry Smith made Governor; J. W. Robinson, Lieu- 

tenant-Governor. 

— Austin, Wharton, and Archer sent as Commissioners 

to the United States. 

— Burleson elected commander of the army (Novem- 

ber 24). 

— Grass Fight. 

— Bexar (San Antonio) stormed and captured (De- 

cember 5-9). 

— Milam's death (December 7). 

— Legislature tries to depose Governor Smith (January). 

— Santa Anna prepares to invade Texas. 

— Siege and fall of the Alamo (February 22-March 6). 

— Declaration of Independence (March 2). 

— Burnet made President ; De Zavala Vice-President. 

— Battle of the Coleto. 
Massacre at Goliad (March 27). 

— Santa Anna penetrates into the interior of Texas. 

— Houston's retreat. 

— Battle of San Jacinto (April 21). 

— Capture of Santa Anna (April 22). 

— Mexican troops withdrawn. 

— Treaties with Santa Anna. 

— Houston, President; Lamar, Vice-President. 

— Santa Anna released. 



ERA V 

ERA OF THE REPUBLIC 

(1836-1846) 

[For footnotes see page 330] 



RECOGNITION BY THE UNITED STATES 

AND 

FIRST STAGE OF ANNEXATION MOVEMENT 



HOUSTON'S ADMINISTRATION 
(1836-1838) 

[Mirahcan Lamar, Vice President^ 

Houston's Election. — Up to this time the President 
of the RepubHc had been merely a provisional officer, 
not one selected by the people, but in September, 1836, 
the people were called on to elec*- a regular president, 
a vice-president, senators and representatives. They 
were also to vote upon annexation to the United States, 
the adoption of the Constitution prepared by the Con- 
vention of March, and the right of the first Congress 
to make changes in the Constitution. The election re- 
sulted in an overwhelming majority for annexation and 
for the Constitution, but against the right of Congress 
to alter or to amend the Constitution. The candidates 
for the Presidency were Stephen F. Austin, Sam Hous- 
ton and Henry Smith. The victory at San Jacinto made 
Houston the idol of the people and won for him the first 
place in the young Republic. Mirabeau Lamar was elec- 

186 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 187 

ted Vice-President. The first President was to serve 
two years, after which the term of office was to be three 
years. Senators were elected for three years, and rep- 
resentatives , for one year. 

The First Congress of the Repubhc of Texas met 
October 3, at Columbia on the Brazos, about two miles 
west of the present town of that name. The two houses 
went to work, with patriotic zeal, to overcome the diffi- 
culties they had to face. (Richard Ellis was chosen 
President, pro tempore, of the Senate, and Ira Ingram, 
Speaker of the House.) On October 22, in the presence 
of Congress and many distinguished visitors, Houston 
and Lamar were inaugurated. After two and a half 
months of hard work, Congress adjourned to rneet May, 
1837, in the city of Houston, which had just been laid 
off into town lots. 

Death of Zavala. — On November 15, at his country 
home on the San Jacinto, the " gentleman, patriot, and 
scholar," Lorenzo de Zavala breathed his last. 

Austin's Death. — Houston showed great wisdom in 
calling into his cabinet Stephen F. Austin as Secretary 
of State.i Austin's first work was to prepare instruc- 
tions for the Texas Minister to Washington, William H. 
Wharton. The government headquarters at Columbia 
were lacking in many cornforts and in all luxuries. Aus- 
tin labored constantly, for three days and nights, in a 
room without fire. He contracted a severe cold, which 
quickly developed into pneumonia. On December 27 
he died. For two days his remains lay in state ; then, 
attended by civil and military authorities, by sorrowing 
friends and loving kindred, the body was placed on board 
the vessel " Yellow Stone," and borne to Peach Point 
(near Velasco), the home of his sister, Mrs. James F. 
Perry. Here, with military honors, was laid to rest the 



i8S 



THE FIRST CONGRESS 



[1836 




ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 189 

"Father of Texas." In October, 1910, it was decided to 
remove the body to the state cemetery at Austin. At- 
tended by the highest officers of state, by kinsmen proud 
to boast his blood, by thousands of school children, who 
love and honor his name, all that was mortal of this truly 
great man was consigned to its final resting place. 

Difficulties. — The difficulties that beset Houston and 
Congress were numerous. The public debt was about a 
million and a quarter dollars, while the population was 
scarcely fifty thousand. Mexico had by no means given 
up her claim to Texas ; the Mexican government de- 
clared the treaty made by Santa Anna void, and con- 
stantly threatened another invasion ; the Mexican navy 
blockaded our ports and destroyed our commerce. The 
Texan army was idle in camp. Being impatient at not 
receiving the pay for which they had long waited, they 
were ready to find fault with every public official. The 
judicial afifairs of the country were in a deplorable con- 
dition. The Indians were troublesome, as the Mexicans 
urged tbem to make war on the Texans. 

Congress Tries to Raise Money. — No government 
can succeed without money, hence much time and labor 
were spent by Houston's administration trying to raise 
necessary funds. Congress issued land scrip at fifty 
cents per acre and placed agents in Mobile and in New 
Orleans to sell this scrip. A small direct tax and some 
import duties were levied. Half a million dollars in gov- 
ernment notes were issued. President Houston was au- 
thorized to borrow $5,000,000, giving bonds of Texas 
as security. 

Courts Organized. — The Supreme Court was organ- 
ized with James B. Collinsworth as the first Chief Justice. 
A system of lower courts was also organized. 

Important Laws Passed, — Among the measures 



I90 THE CONGRESS [1836 

passed while Houston was President, some of the most 
important were : 

The estabHshment of a general land office and the ap- 
pointing of land officers in every district. 

Land laws that were expected to prevent fraud, to pro- 
tect the helpless, to encourage immigrants and to unravel 
the tangle of conflicting claims that arose from the fact 
that public lands had been granted by so many different 
authorities. 

The survey of all lands into sections of six hundred 
and forty acres. 

The opening of post-offices and m.ail routes. 

The claiming as Texas territory all land between the 
Sabine and the Rio Grande ; the northern boundary ex- 
tending to forty-two degrees. The exact boundary be- 
tween the new Republic and the United States was to 
be settled by commissioners. 

The dividing Texas into counties, using the former 
Mexican municipalities as the new counties. 

Mexico in Trouble. — Trouble both at home and 
abroad kept Mexico so disturbed that she had no money 
and no army to invade Texas. 

The Texas Army.— After the Battle of San Jacinto 
many volunteers from the United States joined the army, 
so that, there were now more than two thousand soldiers 
in camp. The army could not be disbanded so long as 
it was unpaid ; there was no money in the treasury. 
Houston fell upon the wise plan of granting furloughs 
to most of the soldiers. In this way the army was re- 
duced to a few small garrisons. 

An Unfortunate Duel. — After Rusk retired from the 
command of the army, Felix Huston, who came to Texas 
after the battle of San Jacinto, was made Commander- 
in-Chief. In 1837 President Houston appointed General 



ERA V] 



THE REPUBLIC 



191 



Albert Sidney Johnston to supersede General Huston. 
Deeply offended at his treatment, and unwilling to give 
up the command after he had spent much money and la- 
bor in raising troops, Huston challenged Johnston ; a 
duel followed in which Johnston was severely wounded. 
Huston remained in Texas many years, but finally re- 
turned to Mississippi. 

Independence of Texas Recognized by United 

States. — The great 
majority of Texans 
wished not only that 
their independence 
should be recognized 
by the United States, 
but that Texas should 
be admitted to the 
Union. William H. 
Wharton and, at a 
later date, Memucan 
Hunt, were sent as 
special commissioners 
to Washington City. 
As a result of their 
efforts a resolution 
declaring Texas to 

Albert Sidney Johnston 'r , . 

be a free and m- 
deperident country was introduced into the United States 
Senate, March i, 1837, and passed by a small majority. 
The next day an effort was made to reconsider the mat- 
ter, but failed, thus making March 26. a day to be doubly 
celebrated by Texans. 

The question of annexation was then brought up, but 
met with little favor from the United States government. 
Houston instructed Anson Jones, then minister to the 




192 RECOGNITION [1838 

United States, to withdraw the proposition of annexa- 
tion. 

Lamar and Burnet. — As the law made the Presi- 
dent inehgible to succeed himself, Houston was not a 
candidate for reelection. In September, 1838, Mirabeau 
B. Lamar and David G. Burnet were elected President 
and Vice-President of the Republic.^ 



RECOGNITION BY EUROPEAN POWERS 
MOVEMENT TO CRUSH INDIANS 

AND 

TO INTERFERE IN MEXICAN AFFAIRS 



LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATIONS 
(1838-1841) 

[David G. Burnet, Vice-President^ 

European Nations Recognize Texas. — In 1839, 
France ofificially recognized the independence of Texas 
and sent over Monsieur Saligny (sa-1'i-nye') as Minister."* 
In 1840, Holland and Belgium welcomed the young re- 
public into the family of nations. England -signed a 
treaty of commerce with Texas in 1840, and two years 
later greeted her as a separate government. 

Lamar's Indian Policy. — While Houston believed in 
using all possible kindness toward the Indians, Lamar's 
policy was different; he thought force alone had influ- 
ence upon the savages, and determined to use the sword 
unsparingly. The Ranger force, that had been organ- 
ized during the Revolution, was now increased; frorn 



ERA V] 



THE REPUBLIC 



193 



that day to this the Rangers have done heroic service 
in protecting the frontier. 

The Cherokees Driven from their Homes. — Flores 
and Cordova, said to be agents of the Mexican govern- 
ment, were continually stirring up the Cherokees in East 
Texas to make war upon the Texans. In a skirmish 
Flores was 
killed and t h e 
despatches o n 
h i s person re- 
vealed all the 
plans of the 
enemy. The 
Indians were 
bidden " not to 
cease to harass 
the enemy [the 
Texans] f o r a 
single day ; t o 
burn their hab- 
itations, to lay 
waste their 
fields, and to 
prevent their 
a s sembling i n 
great num- 
ber." 

When it was known that the Cherokees had promised 
to carry out such orders as these, a vigorous campaign, 
in which Colonel Edward Burleson was a leading spirit, 
was waged against them. In July, 1839, the red men 
were defeated; their famous chief, Bowles, was killed, 
and the once proud tribe, now broken in strength and 




President Lamar 



194 INDIAN TROUBLES [1840 

spirit, was forced to give up their rich lands and seek 
other homes across Red River. Lamar and his support- 
ers contended that the Cherokees had no just title to these 
lands, and, even if they had, that the title was forfeited 
when the Indians joined the Mexicans against the Tex- 
ans. Others argued that the Cherokees had every right 
to their homes, and that they were not justly treated.^' ® 

Death of Comanche Chiefs or Council House 
Fight. — The Comanches were a constant source of trou- 
ble and anxiety. The Texas officers invited twelve Com- 
anche chiefs to come to San Antonio that a treaty might 
be agreed upon. The savages accepted the invitation 
and promised to bring with them their white captives. 
On March 19, 1840, sixty-five Comanches, including 
men, women and boys, entered San Antonio. The 
twelve chiefs met in the council-house with the Texas 
officials to consider the treaty. When asked for their 
prisoners they gave up only a young girl. The maiden 
said there were other captives; that the Indians had de- 
cided to give up only one or two at a time that the ran- 
som obtained might be greater. The Texas leader, hav- 
ing first stationed a guard at all doors, ordered a squad 
of soldiers to enter the room, and then told the chiefs 
they would be held prisoners until the rest of the white 
captives were brought in. The chiefs tried to escape, 
weapons were drawn, and a struggle ensued, at the close 
of which every chief lay dead. A dreadful encounter 
took place outside the building ; not only the Indian war- 
riors, but even some of the squaws were killed. 

Struggle at Plum Creek and Comanche Village. — 

The Comanches vowed vengeance on the whites, and 
right well did they keep their vow. Linnville (on Lavaca 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 195 

Bay) was burned, the whole country about Victoria was 
raided. Harassed by every torture that savage cunning 
could devise, life became to the settlers of that section 
one constant terror. Finally (August, 1840), at Plum 
Creek beyond Gonzales the Indians were thoroughly de- 
feated by General Felix Huston and Colonel Edward 
Burleson. In October Colonel John H. Moore and his 
company destroyed the entire Comanche village near the 
present Colorado City and killed more than one hundred 
and twenty-five men and women. 

The " Republic of the Rio Grande." — Some of the 
leaders of the Federal party in Mexico tried (1839-1840) 
to unite the North Mexican States in a separate gov- 
ernment to be called the Republic of the Rio Grande. 
They invited the Texans to join them and some one 
hundred and eighty did so. The bravery of these ad- 
venturous spirits did much to win victories for the Fed- 
eralists, but these victories were fruitless, for the Repub- 
lic of the Rio Grande proved an utter failure. 

Santa Fe Expedition. — Texas claimed all lands east 
of the Rio Grande, but had never been able to establish 
her authority over the western part of this country. The 
people of New Mexico were said to be eager to throw off 
the rule of Mexico. Texas coveted the St. Louis trade 
Santa Fe carried on. With the approval of Lamar, but 
against the wishes of Congress, in June, 1841, a band of 
three hundred and twenty men started from a point near- 
Austin for Santa, Fe. President Lamar said the expe- 
dition was not one of war ; its purposes were to open trade 
between Texas and New Mexico, to give the people an 
opportunity to unite themselves to Texas, and to explore 
the intervening country. Mexico believed the only true 
reason for the expedition was the desire of Texas to win 



196 SANTA FE EXPEDITION [1841 . 

New Mexico, and that these adventurers were an invad- 
ing army. On the long march to Santa Fe the Texans 
suffered all the tortures of hunger and thirst, were at- 
tacked by the Indians, and exposed to violent storms and 
prairie fires. When at last they reached their destina- 
tion, they found the country roused against them and 
Mexican soldiers waiting to entrap them. One of their 
officers turned traitor, and surrendered them to the most 
savage of Mexican officers. After being in prison for a 
time, they were marched into Mexico and were forced to 
labor as a chain-gang. In 1842, the United States 
and the European powers secured the release of all the 
unfortunate party save one. .Mexico was not to blame 
for being enraged at the whole of this most unwise ex- 
pedition. 

Removal of Capital. — As a majority of the legisla- 
ture objected to Houston's remaining the capital, in 1839 
a committee was appointed to select a new site. After 
carefully considering many places, the committee chose 
Austin. Though it was near the center of the geograph- 
ical bounds of Texas, yet it was in an uninhabited re- 
gion. The nearest settlement, Bastrop, was thirty-five 
miles distant. Toward the west there was no town 
nearer than San Antonio. Indians made frequent raids 
upon the infant city. Nothing daunted by all this, the 
brave pioneers with faith in the future development of 
their country went to work to build up a capital. In 
• August, the first town lots were sold ; by November, 
Congress and the officers of the Republic were settled in 
the new capital.'^ That the committee made a wise choice 
is proved by the fact that twice since that date the people 
have voted to retain Austin as the capital. 

Financial Troubles. — The financial outlook grew 
gloomier each year. The laws passed in the previous 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 197 

administration did not relieve matters. The sale of land 
scrip was poorly managed; the promissory notes issued 
by the Republic fell to twenty cents on the dollar. 
Though there was no money to pay even the necessary 
expenses, though the army had to be disbanded for lack 
of funds, yet the government was mapped out on an 
extravagant scale, the President being paid ten thousand 
dollars per year and many needless officers being em- 
ployed. At the close of Houston's administration the 
public debt was nearly two million dollars while Lamar's 
term of office ended with a debt of about seven million 
five hundred thousand. European nations refused to 
lend money to a government whose outlay was greater 
than its income. A loan of two hundred and eighty 
thousand dollars was obtained from the United States 
Bank, but only sixty-two thousand of this got into the 
treasury, the balance being used for what seemed to be 
pressing expenses. 

President Lamar Founds an Educational System. — 
As far back as the convention of 1832, the Texans asked 
from the legislature of Coahuila and Texas a grant of 
public land to be used for school purposes; the grant 
was not made. In their Declaration of Independence 
the Texans brought as a main charge against the Mex- 
ican government that it had failed to provide for pub- 
lic education. The Constitution of Texas bade Congress 
establish a system of free schools. President Lamar and 
Congress made a beginning of what is to-day the great- 
est blessing of Texas, a system of public free schools. 
In 1839 each county was granted three leagues of land 
for school purposes, and in 1840 another league was 
added, while fifty leagues were set apart for state uni- 
versity funds. 

Progress.— In spite of many drawbacks, Texas was 



I'98 HOUSTON'S POLICY [1841 

steadily progressing. Trade gradually increased. The 
harbors of Galveston, Velasco and Matagorda were white 
with the sails of vessels from the United States and for- 
eign shores. Houston grew rapidly. Steamers were 
seen on the Brazos, the Trinity, and the Colorado. 
Texas imported less and exported more. 

Question of Annexation. — Lamar was opposed to the 
annexation of Texas to the United States. In his in- 
augural message he said : '' I cannot regard the annex- 
ation of Texas to the American Union in any other light 
than as the grave of all her hopes of happiness and great- 
ness." During his administration the question was sel- 
dom discussed pubHcly in Texas, but the press and people 
of the United States did not allow the matter to be for- 
gotten; public sentiment everywhere was growing more 
and more in favor of annexation. 

New Officers. — In September, 1841, Houston was 
again chosen President, and Edward Burleson was made 
Vice-President. 



INVASION OF TEXAS 

COUNTER INVASION OF MEXICO 

ANNEXATION COMPLETED 



HOUSTON'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION 
(1841-1844) 

[Edzvard Burleson, Vice-President^ 

Houston's Policy. — The President in his inaugural 
address advised friendship and peace-treaties with the 
Indians, also the estabhshment of trading posts on the 
frontier. Rigid economy was urged, that the expenses 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 199 

of the Republic might come within its income. Houston 
recommended that Texas have nothing to do with Mex- 
ican revokitions and showed that an invasion of Mexico 
at this time could result only in failure. 

Mexican Invasion. — In March, 1842, a Mexican 
army under General Vasquez (vass-kess) appeared be- 
fore San Antonio and demanded its surrender. As the 
Texans had only a small garrison, while the enemy num- 
bered five hundred or more. Colonel John C. Hays called 
a council of war to decide whether they should surren- 
der, fight, or retreat. Having destroyed their stores, the 
Texans retired from the city as the Mexicans with fly- 
ing colors entered. 

A small band of Mexicans also took possession of 
Refugio and Goliad. After remaining only two or three 
days in the captured cities, the Mexicans retreated to the 
Rio Grande. ■ 

Cause of Invasion. — That Santa Anna, who was again 
at the head of the government, thought he could subdue 
Texas and make her once more bear the Mexican yoke is 
not to be believed. He had seen enough of Texan bravery 
and patriotism to know that to be impossible. He was 
unwilling to acknowledge Texas an independent coun- 
try, and adopted this plan of letting her know she was 
still considered a part of Mexico. Moreover, he hoped 
in this way to prevent the annexation of Texas to the 
United States. The United States Government had 
taken the position : " As long as Texas and Mexico are 
at war, we, as a neutral nation, have no right to espouse 
the cause of either party. Should we favor the annex- 
ation of Texas, Mexico would justly claim that we are 
aiding Texas." Santa Anna ordered the attack on San 
Antonio that the United States might see that the war 
was not over. 



200 THE ARCHIVE WAR [1842 

The Mexicans also felt indignant at the part Texas 
volunteers had taken in various Mexican revolutions, and 
they were especially outraged at the Santa Fe Expedi- 
tion. 

Texas Resistance. — The news of the capture of San 
Antonio quickly spread throughout the RepubUc. In a 
few days, three thousand men had volunteered. Before 
they could gather, however, the enemy had gone. Many 
of the soldiers were eager to cross the Rio Grande and 
pursue the Mexicans, but the leaders, knowing Texas 
had no money to carry on a war, persuaded the patriot 
army to await a better opportunity. 

Congress, realizing that the Republic was in danger, 
passed a bill authorizing Houston to sell ten million acres 
of public land to defray the expenses of an offensive 
war against Mexico. Houston vetoed this bill. 

" The Archive War." — In June, 1842, the President 
called a special session of Congress to meet in Houston. 
Houston was named as the place of meeting because 
Austin was not considered safe, as it was thought the 
Mexicans would soon make a strong effort to capture 
that city. When the officers wished to remove from 
Austin some State papers that were needed by Congress, 
the people of Austin objected. They claimed that Hous- 
ton was partial to the city named in his honor, and was 
continually planning to move the capital back to Hous- 
ton. A Vigilance Committee was formed, the archives 
were packed in boxes and a guard placed over them. 
In December, 1842, President Houston instructed Cap- 
tains Thomas Smith and Eli Chanler to raise a band of 
Rangers, march to Austin, seize the papers and bring 
them to Washington on the Brazos where the Texas 
Congress was soon to meet. The real cause of the ex- 
pedition was not to be revealed even to the soldiers them- 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 201 

selves until they were near the capital. The leaders were 
ordered, under all circumstances, to avoid bloodshed. On 
the night of December 30 the Rangers entered Austin, 
hastened to the capitol, loaded three wagons full of the 
boxes containing the archives, and drove away. The 
guards were unprepared for the raid. Next day, how- 
ever, the Vigilance Committee, under Captain Mark 
Lewis, taking a cannon from the arsenal, hurried in pur- 
suit. At Kinney's fort on Brushy Creek Captains Smith 
and Chanler saw they must either give battle or sur- 
render the archives. In obedience to President Hous- 
ton's orders to avoid bloodshed, they gave up the papers 
which were returned to the capitol. This episode has 
become known as the '' Archive War." 

Second Invasion. — In September, 1842, General WoU 
with not less than a thousand Mexicans, crossed the Rio 
Grande. He took possession of San Antonio, and made 
prisoners of sixty-seven Texans including the officers of 
the District Court that was then in session. 

Battle at the Salado (September 18.) — News of this 
second invasion caused the Texans to rush to arms. 
Colonel Matthew Caldwell, from Gonzales, with some 
two hundred mounted men, was among the first to march 
to the relief of San Antonio. About six miles from 
the city, in a dense bottom that skirted the Salado, a 
location wisely chosen by Colonel John C. Hays and 
his scouts, the Texans met the enemy and after several 
hours' struggle forced them to retire from the field with 
a heavy loss. 

Dawson Massacre. — Captain Nicholas Dawson, with 
fifty-three men, was hastening to join Colonel Caldwell 
when he found that a battle was raging, and that the 
Mexicans were between him and his countrymen. Daw- 
son ordered his men to retreat to a mesquite grove, 



202 MIER EXPEDITION [1842 

where he formed them in line of battle, and waited the 
attack of the enemy. The Mexicans halted out of rifle- 
range from the Texans and turned upon them their 
artillery : soon all but fifteen of the little band were 
killed and these were taken prisoners. The remains of 
the unfortunate Texans were afterward (in 1848) taken 
to La Grange and buried on Monument Hill, opposite 
the town. 

General Well Returns to Mexico. — On September 
20th General WoU began a retreat from San Antonio 
and soon crossed the Rio Grande. He took with him all 
prisoners able to travel. 

Mier Expedition. — Houston now called for volun- 
teers to invade Mexico and troops collected rapidly near 
San Antonio. The President placed General Somervell 
in command ; this displeased the soldiers as they wanted 
General Edward Burleson, claiming that Somervell was 
not really in sympathy with the proposed invasion. After 
going down the Rio Grande, after marching and counter- 
marching, without accomplishing anything, General Som- 
ervell gave up the expedition and returned home. While 
most of the volunteers followed his example, yet about 
three hundred remained near the border and elected Col- 
onel William S. Fisher to command them. 

Battle of Mier. — Colonel Fisher led his men against 
the Mexican town of Mier. (See Map.) They surprised 
the guard, captured a group of stone houses and fought 
fiercely all Christmas Day. On December 26th the battle 
was renewed. In the midst of the struggle the Mexican 
general, x^mpudia, sent out a white flag; the bearer said 
the town was surrounded by a large force of Mexicans 
and fresh troops were hourly expected; that General 
Ampudia so admired the bravery of the Texans he wished 
to save them from certain death and therefore offered 



WYOMING 




^ # X I CO 



^ 



<f 



+ 



Washlngljon :^;§ 
,, -4/^^!;'&s° ^Houst 
ionzaleg 
SanAntoriicfU , C°'^J^bia^ 
^- ^ctonai 




Territory Claimed by the Republic of Texas 



204 



THE MIER PRISONERS [1843 



them generous terms of surrender, but that if they re- 
fused the terms they must expect no quarter. Many of 
the Texans opposed any agreement with the enemy, but 
Colonel Fisher was badly wounded and his men had lost 
heavily, so it was decided to accept the offer of kind 
treatment and surrender. 

Some time after the Texans learned that if they had 
continued the battle an hour longer victory would prob- 
ably have been theirs. 

Treatment of the Prisoners. — Though the Texans 
had been promised that they should be kept near the 
border and soon exchanged, in a few days two hundred 
and thirty-five of them were started upon a wearisome 
march first to Matamoras and then into the interior gf 
Mexico. The seriously wounded were left at Mier. 

Escape. — On February 11, while encamped for the 
night at the hacienda of Salado, about one hundred and 
twenty miles beyond Saltillo, the prisoners overpowered 
their guards, armed themselves, conquered the cavalry 
guard, took what horses they could get, and to the num- 
ber of one hundred and ninety-three started for home.''' 
Instead of keeping in the main road, and trusting to their 
power to conquer any force they might meet, they tried 
to make their way over the mountain paths. They soon 
became lost. Food was so scarce that it was necessary 
to kill their horses. Water failed them. As the time 
passed on and no water was found, many, overpowered 
by the fever brought on by tormenting thirst, lay down 
to die ; others became so weak that they threw away their 
arms, and pressed on in the mad search for water. 
While in this condition, they were made prisoners by a 
company of Mexican cavalry (February i8th) and 
started back toward the City of Mexico. 

The Fatal Lottery. — March 25, 1843, the prisoners, 



ERA V] 



THE REPUBLIC 



205 



who were now heavily ironed, received news at Salado 
that Santa Anna had commanded every tenth man among 
them to be shot ; this was a punishment for their attempt 
to escape. The prisoners, heavily guarded, were 
marched into a court-yard. The Mexican officer took an 
earthen crock, in which he placed one hundred and fifty- 
nine white beans and seventeen black ones. The men 
who drew the black beans were to be shot. Not a 




The Fatal Lottery 



Texan flinched. The brave Captain Cameron, who was 
the first to draw, advanced with a firm tread toward the 
vessel that contained life and death, saying : '' Well, 
boys, we have to draw, so let's be at it." He drew life, 
but there was no joy in his face, for he knew that seven- 
teen of his comrades must suffer. At dark, the con- 
demned were moved to a neighboring court, where they 
were shot. The surviving prisoners were forced to con- 



206 SNIVELY EXPEDITION [1843 

tinue their weary march the next morning. On April 
25 by special ordei" Captain Cameron was shot. 

Fate of the Remaining Prisoners. — After reaching 
the City of Mexico the Texans were sent more than one 
hundred and fifty miles to the east where they were 
placed in the gloomy fortress of Perote (pa-ro'-ta) ; 
here they found many of the prisoners General WoU 
had brought from Bexar. This was considered such a 
strong castle that it \Yas thought the Texans could not 
escape, but several of the men tunneled through the 
thick stone foundation and won their freedom. In 
March, 1844, through the eiTorts of General Waddy 
Thompson, United States Minister to Mexico, those of 
the Bexar prisoners still living were released. Septem- 
ber 16, 1844, the Mexican nation's birthday, Santa Anna 
set free one hundred and seven of the Mier prisoners, 
the rest having died or escaped. 

Snively Expedition. — This administration was marked 
by still another unfortunate expedition against Mexico. 
An extensive overland trade was carried on between 
Mexico and Missouri by way of the Sante Fe trail, 
which led through a portion of Texas. In 1842 the 
news spread over Texas that a rich caravan, bound for 
Mexico, was to pass through in a few months. A band 
of daring spirits asked for and received permission from 
the government to capture this property of the enemy. 
Their commander, Colonel Jacob Snively, with a well- 
armed force, set out late in April, 1843, to meet and 
attack the Mexican merchants. When they reached the 
Arkansas River, they camped on the right bank below 
where the Santa Fe trail crossed, and sent out scouts, 
who reported that the train Avould pass some distance 
above them, and that five hundred Mexicans were acting 
as escort. Later, Colonel Snively learned that the cara- 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 207 

van was also protected by two hundred United States 
dragoons under Captain Philip St. George Cooke. The 
Texans met a portion of the Mexican guard and utterl}^ 
routed them, taking a number of prisoners and much 
booty. This success proved to be a misfortune, for 
quarrels arose among the victors, and these quarrels led 
to the division of their forces, seventy returning home 
under Captain Chanler. Late in June, Captain Cooke 
sent for Colonel Snively and asked why he, with armed 
men, was waging war on United States territory. 
Snively assured Cooke that the Texans were on their 
own land. By way of reply, Cooke marched to Snively's 
camp, surrounded it, turned upon it his cannon, and bade 
the Texans stack arms. This Snively and his men most 
unwillingly did. Cooke left them only ten muskets 
with which to protect themselves from the Indians, but 
he offered safe escort to all who wished to go to Mis- 
souri. Some fifty of the party accepted this offer, and 
the remaining Texans were fortunate enough to over- 
take Chanler and his party. After many adventures 
the expedition reached Texas and disbanded August 6th. 
The United States government afterwards admitted that 
Snively was on Texas soil, and paid $18.50 for every 
gun taken. 

Texas Appeals to the Great Powers. — After Woll's 
invasion Congress ordered (December, 1842) six com- 
panies of militia to be ready for immediate service. 
General Thomas Rusk was appointed commander. Be- 
fore beginning a regular offensive campaign against 
Mexico, however, the Texas authorities resolved to make 
an appeal to the United States, Great Britain and France. 
A statesman-like paper^ was prepared, showing that 
though Texas had won her freedom, and though her 
independence had been recognized by several of the 



2o8 REGULATORS [1844 

Great Powers yet Mexico continued at war. Mexico said, 
"Texas is still ours. We gave these foreigners freely of 
our richest lands, but they have been traitors from the 
beginning. Now, not content with Texas, they dare to 
invade Mexico. We are forced to use cruelty against 
such people." While the chief men in Mexico knew that 
Texas could never be conquered, they dared not tell the 
masses for fear of a revolution. 

Hostilities Cease. — In June, 1843, through the kind 
services of England, Mexico and Texas agreed to stop 
all hostilities until commissioners could arrange an arm- 
istice or a treaty of peace. The commissioners from 
Texas and Mexico drew up an armistice, but President 
Houston refused to sign it because '' it referred to Texas 
as a part of Mexico." Santa Anna then (June, 1844) 
notified Texas that Mexico would renew hostilities. 

Regulators and Moderators. — From 1842 to 1844 
Shelby County and other portions of the eastern border 
were kept in constant turmoil by the quarrels of two 
opposing parties, styled the Regulators and Moderators. 
Many of the citizens of this section were daring adven- 
turers, who had lived in the Neutral Ground, where they 
acknowledged no law save their own pleasure. Charles 
W. Jackson, a refugee from Louisiana, came to Texas 
in 1842, and speedily announced himself a candidate for 
congressman. He was defeated. Enraged at this, and 
knowing that the land officers had worked against him, 
he wrote the General Land Office that serious frauds 
were being practised by the Shelby officials. He received 
a letter, threatening his life, and killed the writer thereof. 
When the day for his trial came, the most intense ex- 
citement prevailed ; the court was crowded with armed 
men ; the judge was afraid to undertake the case, and 
hence found it convenient to disappear; this left Jack- 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 209 

son master of the situation. He organized a party under 
the name of the Regulators, and they proceeded to regu- 
late public matters according to their own ideas. In 
order to resist such actions, the enemies of Jackson 
banded together as the Moderators. Then followed a 
series of murders and outrages that grew so serious 
as to threaten a civil war in the county. President Hous- 
ton ordered out some five hundred militia under General 
Smith, with instructions to suppress the disturbances at 
any cost. The general and his officers, by appealing to 
the better nature of the opposing parties, persuaded them 
to disband, but many private feuds, growing out of this 
trouble, lasted for years. 

The Navy.— As we have seen, in 1836 Texas bought 
four vessels, which did valiant service in the Revolution. 
In 1839, as one of these vessels had been captured, an- 
other sold and two wrecked. Congress spent nearly eight 
hundred thousand dollars in bonds for the purchase of 
a new navy consisting of three schooners, one sloop-of- 
war, two brigs, and one steamship. In 1840 these ves- 
sels, with one exception, were sent to Yucatan, which 
was in the midst of a revolution. As the French had 
destroyed the Mexican navy, the Texas force was able 
to do much damage to Mexican commerce. When Yu- 
catan declared her independence, she entered into an 
alliance with Texas against Mexico; Texas agreed to 
let her navy protect the trade and coast of Yucatan pro- 
vided Yucatan paid part of the naval expenses. The 
vessels remained in Yucatan waters from the fall of 1841 
till May, 1842, when they were sent to New Orleans and 
Mobile for repairs in order to be ready to enforce a 
blockade ordered by President Houston against Mex- 
ico. 



210 COMMODORE MOORE [1844 

Trouble Between the President and Commodore 
Moore. — Later Houston ordered Commodore Moore to 
report in Galveston for orders ; the Commodore did not 
obey. On January 16, 1843, the President and Congress 
secretly decided to sell the navy and sent James Morgan 
and William Bryan as commissioners so to do. Moore 
refused to turn over the vessels, saying he had promised 
not to take the navy from New Orleans till he had paid 
for the repairs made and no money had been furnished 
hirn to settle the debt. Yucatan about this time offered 
a good price if Moore would hasten to Campeachy and 
protect the port against the Mexicans, who were besieg- 
ing it. Commissioner Morgan consenting and offering 
to go with him, Moore sailed to Yucatan with two ves- 
sels. Thereupon the President suspended the commo- 
dore and declared him a pirate. Moore, after marked 
success in Yucatan, returned to Galveston. The sym- 
pathy of the masses was with the naval officer and when 
the secret plan to sell the navy got out, the people showed 
so much indignation that the order was repealed (Feb- 
ruary, 1844). When Texas was annexed to the United 
States her navy becam.e United States property. 

Annexation. — During all this time, the people of 
Texas still desired to become a part of the United States, 
but there were two reasons why a strong party in the 
United States opposed annexation. First, Mexico still 
claimed Texas, and said she would fight before she would 
give her up to another nation. Thus war with Mexico 
would surely follow the admission of Texas to the 
Union. Second, the Texans held slaves; hence, while 
most of the South favored annexation the North opposed 
it, as it would add to the slave-holding territory. Presi- 
dent Tyler wishing to see Texas one of the United 
States, a treaty of annexation was drawn up and signed 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 211 

by John C. Calhoun, the Secretary of State under Tyler, 
and by J. P. Henderson and Isaac Van Zandt, repre- 
sentatives of Texas. In June, 1844, however, the United 
States Senate refused to confirm the treaty. 

The Cry "Polk and Texas" Wins an Election.— 
This decision was not final ; the people were soon to 
decide the matter themselves. In the Presidential cam- 
paign of November, 1844, " Polk and Texas," or *' Clay 
and no Texas," was the battle-cry. France and England 
did all in their power to keep Texas from the United 
States; among other inducements, they offered her com- 
plete protection from Mexico. This action on the part 
of these two great nations had a good effect upon the 
United States, whose people saw if she did not hasten 
to receive Texas, the Lone Star Republic would come 
under the influence of some other country. Polk's party 
argued that this would never do ; they showed, also, that 
if England or France once gained a foothold in Texas, 
the United States would be compelled, for her own safety, 
to burden herself with vast standing armies. The elec- 
tion resulted in the choice of Polk. This decided that 
Texas would soon become one of the United States, if 
she so desired. 

Conditions in Texas. — Money matters had improved. 
The Indians were far less troublesome. Some seventy 
thousand settlers came to Texas between 1836 and 1846. 
Of these a few were French and English. Many Germans, 
some from noble families, located at New Braunfels, 
Fredericksburg and Yorktown. On account of hard times 
in the United States, hundreds of good families eagerly 
accepted Texas' offer of free land. The Homestead Law 
(1839) made the home safe from seizure for debt. 

The candidates for the Presidency were Anson Jones 
and Edward Burleson, Dr. Jones was elected. 



212 



PUBLIC POLICY 



[1844 



JONES'S ADMINISTRATION » 

(1844-1846) 

[Kenneth L. Anderson, Vice-President] 

President's Position. — President Jones's position was 
a trying one. Annexation was publicly discussed 
throughout Texas 
and the United 
States. Mexico, 
France and Eng- 
land were making 
every advance to 
Texas, trying to 
persuade her to re- 
main independent of 
the United States. 
To keep all propo- 
sals unanswered for 
several months, and 
give offense to none 
of the nations, was 
the task that con- 
fronted the Presi- 
dent and his able Secretary of State, Dr. Ashbel Smith. 

Annexation Resolution Passes Congress. — On Feb- 
ruary 25, 1845, there passed the lower house of the 
United States Congress a joint resolution offering under 
certain conditions annexation to Texas. In the Senate 
this resolution, after being somewhat changed, passed. 
On February 25th the amended bill was finally 
passed by the House of Representatives. One of the 
last official acts of President Tyler was to sign the bill, 
thus making it a law. 




President Jones 



ERA V] 



THE REPUBLIC 



213 



Offers from Mexico. — At this 
time Santa Anna was out of office 
and General Herrera was in con- 
trol of Mexican affairs. Dr. 
Ashbel Smith secured (May, 
1845), Mexico's signature to a 
^ ^^/ V... treaty of peace recognizing the 

m/B^^JU^^ independence of Texas, provided 
_p^^ M^^^m Texas would promise to refuse 
'iMB ^^^^H ^^ offer of annexation. Presi- 
^Ib flUi^H ^^^"^ Jones said he would submit 
^^E '^H^^H '^^^^ propositions — that of the 
United States and that of Mexico 

Dr. Ashbel Smith , ,1 1 r 1 • t. 1 i- 

— to the people of his Republic. 
Texas Accepts Annexation. — On June i6, the Texan 
Congress met in special session; on July 4 a conven- 
tion was called : both 
these bodies rejected the 
offer from Mexico and 
accepted annexation. 
On October 13th, the 
people of Texas voted 
almost unanimously to 
accept annexation, and 
also to adopt the State 
Constitution. The laws 
of the United States 
were extended over 
Texas in December; on 
February 19, 1846, both 
the laws and postal ser- 
vice of the United States 
became those of Texas, 
and President Jones 




Sidney Sherman 



214 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

gave way to the first Governor of the State of Texas.^^ 
Thus the RepubHc of the Lone Star was by her own 
hand blotted out from the catalogue of nations, but in 
her place gleams a radiant planet that revolves in the 
peaceful firmament of the " Red, White, and Blue." ^^ 

SUMMARY OF ERA V 

In September, 1836, the people of the Texas Republic adopted 
a Constitution, elected General Sam Houston President, and de- 
clared themselves in favor of being annexed to the United 
States. The United States recognized (1837) the independence 
of Texas, but did not consider the question of annexation. The 
Supreme Court was organized, a general land office was es- 
tablished, land laws were passed, post-offices and mail routes 
were opened and the army was furloughed. 

During the term of the second President, Mirabeau Lamar 
(1838-1841), France, Holland, England and Belgium recognized 
the Texas Republic. The Cherokee and the Comanche Indians 
were crushed. The Santa Fe expedition, having for its purpose 
the winning of New Mexico, failed. Austin was selected (1839) 
as the capital. The foundation of a public school system was 
laid. The finances of Texas grew worse each year. 

General Houston served a second term as President (1841- 
1844). Mexicans invaded Texas (March, 1842), and took pos- 
session of San Antonio, Refugio and Goliad, but in a few days 
withdrew across the border ; in September a second invasion oc- 
curred in which Captain Dawson and his men were massacred, 
but the Texans gained a victory at the Salado. The Mexicans 
again withdrew. The Mier expedition, organized to invade 
Mexico, was marked by the battle of Mier (December, 1842), 
the surrender of the Texans, their imprisonment and escape, and 
the fatal lottery. The Snively expedition also failed. Texas ap- 
pealed to the Great Powers, protesting against the inhuman 
modes of warfare used by Mexico. The Archive War, the Regu- 
lators and Moderators and disagreements between President 
Houston and Commodore Moore, created disturbances within 
the Republic. Finances improved. The election of Polk as 
President of the United States, meant that the people desired the 
annexation of Texas. 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 215 

Under the last Texas president, Anson Jones (1844-1846), the 
Republic ceased to exist and Texas became a state of the Ameri- 
can Union. 

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 

[See also Bolton and Barker's '' With the Makers of Texas" 
page 219-272.] 

Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Harris, [Quarterly Texas State 
Historical Association, January, 1904.] 

"Bray's Bayou, 1838." 

GOOD TIMES. 

" We enjoyed our new home very much, for we could at- 
tend church, a blessing we had been deprived of since the 
year- 1833. Houson had improved considerably for a town not 
two years old. A steamboat had arrived. . . . Everybody 
was highly elated, as the farmers were going to plant cotton. 
The planters from Mississippi with their slaves were located on 
the Brazos. A Mr. Jonathan Waters was going to build a cotton 
gin on the Brazos. . . . 

" I attended school during the summer. At this time there 
was no church building in Houston, nor any preacher stationed 
there. The first sermon I heard preached in Houston was de- 
livered by a Presbyterian minister by the name of Sullivan. He 
preached in the Hall of Representatives in the old Capitol. 
There had been built a court house and jail, both of them of 
logs. . . . With other evils, a great many gamblers had been 
put out of the State of Mississippi and, as it was believed that 
a large amount of money had been captured from the Mexicans 
at San Jacinto, Houston was considered the El Dorado of the 
West. There had been several good houses built in Houston. 

PRESIDENT HOUSTON AT A BALL. 

" Mr. Ben Fort Smith built a large two-story house to be 
used for a hotel. It was opened with a grand ball on the 21st 
of April, the second anniversary of San Jacinto. . . . The 
second story of the house had not been partitioned off for bed- 
rooms, and it made a fine hall for dancing. There were three 
hundred people present, but not more than sixty ladies, including 



2l6 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

little girls and married women. There were but few unmarried 
young ladies at that time in Texas, and as Miss Mary Jane 
Harris, the belle of Buffalo Bayou, was married, I, as the Rose 
of Bray's Bayou, came in for considerable attention. Politics 
ran high. General Mirabeau B. Lamar, vice-president, and a 
candidate for president, and Gen. Sam. Houston aiid staff, did 
not dance, but promenaded. One half of the men were can- 
didates. Mr. Robert Wilson. 'Honest Bob,' was a candidate 
for congress. General Houston was talking with Mother and 
some other ladies, when Father presented Sister and me to the 
president. He kissed both of us and said, " Dr. Rose, you have 
two pretty little girls." I felt rather crestfallen, as I considered 
myself a young lady. It had been the height of my ambition 
to dance with the president. At the Washington's birthday ball, 
Mrs. Dr. Gazley was dancing with the president. She, not 
feeling well, asked me to take her place, but a pretty young 
widow . . . asked her partner to excuse her. She changed 
places with me, but I had the honor to dance in the same set. 
But as there was to be a wedding in June and I was to be first 
bridesmaid and General Houston best man, I didn't care. . . . 

FIRST THEATRE. 

"The second anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto had 
come and gone and Mother said she hoped there would be 
nothing else to distract us from our studies, as the school would 
close in June. But there was another sensation. One Monday 
morning in May, on our arrival at the school-house, we found 
the town covered with bills. A theatrical company had arrived 
and would give the first performance Friday night, June ii. 
This was the first theatrical company to come to Texas. It not 
only ran the young people wild, but the old people were not 
much better. . . . 

A WEDDING. 

"The wedding came off the 15th of June. The groom was 
Mr. Flournoy Hunt, the bride. Miss Mary Henry. The wedding 
was at the mansion house, the home of Mrs. Man, mother of the 
groom. It was a grand affair, but I was snubbed again by a 
pretty widow. General Houston and I were to be first attend- 
ants, Dr. Ashbel Smith and Miss Voate, second, and Dr. Ewing 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 21^ 

and Mrs. Holliday, third. At the last moment the program was 
changed. Mrs. Holliday suggested that I was too young and 
timid, and that she would take my place. General Houston of- 
fered her his arm. They took the lead, and Dr. Ewing escorted 
me. Everything passed off very pleasantly. As soon as con- 
gratulations were over, General Houston, who was the personifi- 
cation of elegance and kindness, excused himself and retired. 
. . . Mr. Hunt introduced Mr. Ira A. Harris. He was young, 
handsome, and had been but a few weeks in Houston ; and, as I 
did not have the president for a partner, I was well pleased. 
As there was no pretty widow to interfere, we were subsequently 
married. Houston was at that time overrun with widows. 
They came from New Orleans. But it was a blessing in dis- 
guise, as all the old widowers and bachelors were thus enabled 
to get wives. The wedding ended with a supper and ball. The 
names of a few who were present and who married widows are: 
Thomas Earl, William Vince, owner of Vince Bridge, and his 
brother, Allen Vince, owner of the fine horse on which General 
Santa Anna made his escape from the battle-field of San Jacinto. 

AN EXCITING EVENING. 

" President Houston had been absent in October visiting 
Nacogdoches. On his return the citizens arranged to give him 
a grand reception and banquet. The Milam Guards were to 
meet the president at Green's Bayou. As they marched out 
they came by the scl;ool-house. The soldiers were a fine body 
of men; their uniforms were white with blue trimmings. There 
were but a few girls in school. None of us were over fifteen 
years old, but we all had sweethearts among the Milam Guards. 
Soon after they left town rain began falling, and when they 
returned in the evening they were a sorry sight, wet and muddy, 
their uniforms ruined, and the president's clothing not much bet- 
ter. The reception was a failure, there being no ladies at the 
banquet. The school teacher, Mrs. Robertson, and pupils, had 
received complimentary tickets to the theatre that evening, as 
had also the president, his staff, and the Milam Guards. Rain 
and mud did not deter us. We were all at the school-house 
before dark. From there we marched to the theatre, where the 
First National Bank now stands. The front seats were reserved 
for ladies and the school children, the next seats for the presi- 



2l8 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

dent, his staff, and the Milam Guards. The school arrived early, 
found the reserved seats occupied, and was accordingly seated in 
the second seats. There was considerable confusion, as the 
house was crowded. As the president and escort entered, the 
orchestra played ' Hail to the Chief,' but there were no vacant 
seats to accommodate them. The stage manager, Mr. Curry, 
came out and t^equested the men in front, who were gamblers 
and their friends, to give up the seats. This they refused to do. 
Then the manager called for the police to put them out. They 
became enraged, and drawing weapons, threatened to shoot. 
The sheriff called upon the soldiers to arrest and disarm them. 
It looked as if there would be bloodshed, gamblers on one side, 
soldiers on the other, women and children between, everybody 
talking, women and children crying. The president got on a 
seat, commanded the peace, asked those in front to be seated, 
ordered the soldiers to stack arms, and said that he and the 
ladies would take back seats. This appeared to shame the 
gamblers. One man acted as spokesman and said that if their 
money was returned they would leave the house, as they had no 
desire to discommode the ladies. . . . After the gamblers left, 
the evening passed very pleasantly. The president addressed the 
audience, particularly the children. . . . He admonished them 
to be obedient and diligent in their studies. 

" The first theatrical company to perform in Houston closed its 
engagement the next day. Mrs. Barker went home sick, Mrs. 
Hubbard refused to act again, and Mr. Barker took an overdose 
of laudanum and died, leaving his family destitute, the mother 
sick, with three small children, in an open house without a fire- 
place or stove. As soon as the people buried the corpse, there 
was a meeting to find means to help Mrs. Barker. The gamblers 
gave money freely, but it was impossible to get a good house. 
Gen. Sam Houston came to the rescue, and said that the desti- 
tute family could have the president's mansion, and that he would 
board. The family was moved into the mansion till Mrs. B. 
was able to travel to her friends. . . . 

"Bray's Bayou, 1S39" 

LOCATING THE CAPITAL. 

" This winter, 1839, was the first cold weather I had seen in 
Texas. There was sleet and snow. The new congress met in 



ERA VI THE REPUBLIC 2ig 

December, 1838, in Houston. General M. Lamar was president; 
. . . There was as much dissension in this congress as in 
the Consultation of 1835. The land speculators wanted to move 
the seat of government from Houston. No two members could 
agree. Some wanted to locate it at San Antonio, others at the 
head of the Colorado, or at Brazoria, Nacogdoches, or San 
Saba — every man was for himself. Finally there was a secret 
session of the senate that gave some offense to Senator Robert 
Wilson. He exposed some transaction of the session, and this 
caused his expulsion. An election was ordered to fill the va- 
cancy. * Uncle Bob Wilson," as everybody called him, was 
nominated and elected. As soon as he received his certificate 
of election the boys decided to celebrate the event. They built 
a throne in a wagon, seated their senator, manned the wagon, 
marched around town, then to the Capitol while Congress was 
in session, hurrahing for ' Uncle Bob,' and shouting ' Down with 
secret sessions,' and ' The seat of Government must remain in 
Houston.' They would have hauled the wagon into the seiiate 
chamber, but 'Uncle Bob' requested them not to do sl. This 
session of the congress passed the act locating the seat of gov- 
ernment on the Colorado River above the Old San Antonio Road, 
and naming the place Austin. ... At this time we were 
harassed by Mexicans and Indians. First was General Woll's 
invasion. The seat of government was moved back to Houston, 
and then to AVashington on the Brazos. Times were very hard. 
Texas money was down to twenty-five cents on the dollar ; gold 
and sih'fr disappeared from circulation; and immigration to 
Texas almost stopped. 

ANOTHER WEDDING. 

" On the 20th of February I was married to Ira A. Harris in 
a log house on Brazos Bayou. The marriage ceremony was per- 
formed by Judge Andrew Briscoe, the hero of Anahuac. Mrs. 
Mary McCrory, now Mrs. Anson Jones, was bridesmaid, and 
Mr. Allen, from New York, groomsman. Among the guests 
were Gen. T. J. Rusk [and] Dr. Ashbel Smith." . . . 



2^0 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

SCHOOLS 

"From Old Time Schools in Texas/* 

BY M. M. KENNEDY. 

" The first school that I remember, though I did not attend it, 
was in Austin's colony in 1835. It was taught by an Irishman 
named Cahill. My older brother was one of the pupils of that 
primitive academy. [The school] was distant about two miles 
from our house, and the way was through the woods without any 
road or path. When he [the brother] started to school, our 
father was absent and mother went with him, carrying a hatchet 
to blaze the way. . . . 

" The next school was at the same place in 1838 or 1839, 
taught by Mr. Dyas, an old Irish gentleman, and I think a regular 
teacher by profession. The session was three or four months 
and the studies miscellaneous, but the discipline was exact. He 
had an assortment of switches set in grim array over the great 
opening" where the chimney was to be when the school-house 
should be completed. On one side was the row for little boys, 
small, straight and elastic, from a kind of tree which furnished 
Indians with arrows and the schoolmaster with switches at the 
same time. I remember thinking of the feasibility of destroy- 
ing all that kind of timber growing near the school-house. My 
terror was a little red switch in that rank which I caught too 
often, usually for the offense of laughing. The larger switches 
were graded, partly by the size of the boys and partly by the 
gravity of the offense, the gravest of which was an imperfect 
lesson. The third size of rods was of hickory, tough sticks, 
which he did not use on little boys, but which he did use on the 
larger scholars, without the least hesitation or reserve, if they 
failed to get the appointed lesson. 

" As for the studies, we all had Webster's spelling book, and 
were classed according to our proficiency in that great classic. 
The last few pages contained some stories and fables, intended 
for reading lessons. They were illustrated, and the last one had 
a picture of a wolf, by some accident well executed — a fact which 
tended to establish the book in our estimation, because we saw 
wolves every day. 'The picture of the wolf in the spelling book' 
thus became the synonym of graduation. Whether it originated 
with us or not I do not know, but the expression was long used 



ERA V] THE REPUBLIC 221 

in a humorous sense as equivalent to a diploma, and when it was 
said of a boy that he had studied to ' the picture of the wolf in 
the spelling book ' his ability was not afterward questioned. 

" The pupils brought such books as they happened to have, 
and one young man had Robinson Crusoe for his reading book. 
His readings interested me greatly, but I fear that my attention 
was given to the adventures of Crusoe rather than to the 
teacher's precepts for reading well. Several had Weems's Life of 
Washington, in which the story of the little hatchet and the 
cherry tree was most impressed upon our memory. There were 
no classes in arithmetic. Each boy ciphered through his text- 
book as fast as he could, and the stern teacher pointed to the 
errors with the switch held like a pen, and a wag of the head 
that meant correction." 

QUESTIONS 

In September, 1836, on what questions did the people vote? 

What were the results of the elections? 

How long did Houston serve as President? 

Give a short sketch of Houston's life. 

Where and when did the first Congress meet? 

What public men died during Houston's administration? 

Describe Austin's burial. 

State the leading difficulties that confronted Houston and the 
Congress. 

Why did Mexico not send another army to invade Texas? 

What is a furlough? Why did Houston grant furloughs to 
most of the army? 

What prominent Texans fought a duel? Why? How do 
you regard duelling? Wliich takes more courage, to accept or to 
refuse a challenge? Is public opinion in regard to the duel the 
same now as it was in i<S47? 

Contrast the Indian policy of Lamar with that of Houston. 

When did a pig cause trouble between Texas and France? 

Name some of the United States officials who favored the an- 
nexation of Texas. Why did any one oppose annexation? 

Who were the Regulators and Moderators? 

Give cause and result of the Snively Expedititon. 

Who wrote "The Republic of Texas?" 

When \yas Texas annexed to the United States? 



222 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

Name all the Presidents of the Republic. 

Who said " The first act in the great drama is now performed. 
The Republic of Texas is no more " ? 

Describe the Council House Fight. 

What decisive battle was fought with Comanclies? 

What can you say of the Republic of the Rio Grande? 

What territory was claimed by both Texas and Mexico? 

Tell the story of the Santa Fe Expedition. 

Name places that served as the capitals of the Republic. 

What efforts were made to build up a system of public educa- 
tion ? 

Tell all you can of the Mexican invasion in 1842. 

What was the Archive War? 

When was a District Court made prisoner? 

Give details of the Dawson Massacre. 

What is the meaning of " the white flag was raised " ? 

Where was Mier? Why were the Texans there? Describe 
the Battle of Mier. Why did the Texans surrender? How were 
they treated ? Tell of " the escape " and of the " fatal lottery." 
Of wbit other scene in Texas history did the "fatal lottery" 
remind 3'^ou ? 

What is an armistice? When did Texas and Mexico agree 
upon an armistice? 

Who was Dr. Ashbel Smith? 

When was a Texas Commodore declared a pirate? 

Which event in this Era most interested you? 

Do you think it was wise for Texas to give up her inde- 
pendence ? Why ? 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 



223 



I. Ad Interim — Government. 
David G. Burnet, President. 



See Era IV. 



II. Recognition by- 
United States. 
First steps of 
Annexation. 
Houston, President, 
(1836-1838). 



III. ■Recognition by 
F^uropean Powers. 
Interference in 
Mexican affairs. 
Indians crushed. 
Lamar, President. 
(1838-1841). 



IV. Invasion of Texas, 
Counter Invasion of 
Mexico, 

Annexation Completed. 
Sam Houston, Presi- 
dent, (1841-1844). 

Anson Jones, Presi- 
dent, ( 1 844-1 846). 



First Congress. 



2. Difficulties. 



a. Debt. 

b. Mexico. 

c. Army. 

d. Indians. 

3. How difficulties were met. 

4. Death of Austin and De Zavala. 

5. United States recognizes Texas Republic. 
.6. Proposition for annexation withdrawn. 

1. France, England, Belgium and Holland 
recognize Texas. 

C a. Lamar's policy. 

T ,. rr> ,1 I b. Cherokees. 

2. Indian Troubles, -j 

c. Comanches 



Council House. 
Plum Creek. 



3. Republic of the Rio Grande. 



4. Santa Fc Expedition. 



5. Capital located at Austin. 

6. Finances. 

7. Educational System. 

. First Mexican 
Invasion. 



Second Mexican 
Invasion. 



Cause. 
Journey. 
Capture. 
Fate of 
Prisoners. 



Mier. 
Expedition. 



a. Cause. 

b. Result. 

a. Battle of 
Salado. 

b. Dawson 
Massacre. 

6. Retreat. 

a. Cause. 

b. Battle. 

c. Surrender. 

d. Escape. 

e. Capture. 

f. Fate. 



4. Archive War. 

5. Snively Expedition. 

6. Texas appeals to Great Powers. 

7. Regulations and Moderations. 

8. The Navy. 

9. Election of Polk and triumph of An- 
nexation Party. 

10. Annexation possesses United States 
Congress. 

11. Offers from England, France and Mex- 
ico. 

12. Texas becomes one of the United 
States. 



ERA VI 

ERA OE THE STATE 

(1846-1912) 

[For footnotes see page 32)2)] 



WAR BETWEEN MEXICO AND THE UNITED 
STATES 



HENDERSON'S ADMINISTRATION 1 

{Albert C. Norton, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(feb. 16, 1846-DEC. 21, 1847.) 

Opening of the Administration. — Governor Hender- 
son's administration opened with bright prospects. 
Texas, freed 
from those cares 
that the central 
g-overnment as- 
sumes, feh as if 
she had a • great 
burden rolled 
from her shoul- 
d e r s. When 
Texas was an- 
nexed she kept 
her public lands 
and these lands 
were now rapidly 
increasing in 
value ; immigra- 
tion poured into 
her borders, for 

3he offered homes Governor Henderson 

224 




ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



225 



" without money and without price." Sam Houston and 
Thomas J. Rusk 2 were sent to the United States Senate ; 
Timothy Pilsbury, of Brazoria, and David S. Kaufman, 
of Nacogdoches, were elected congressmen. 

Causes of War With Mexico.— When Mexico saw 
that in spite of all her efforts Texas was to become one 
of the United States, she became indignant. Her min- 
ister at Washin;^ton was called home. The United 

States Minister to 
Mexico was refused 
recognition. Prepar- 
ations were made 
for war. The Con- 
gress of the Repub- 
lic of Texas in 1836 
declared the Rio 
Grande to be its 
western boundary, 
but Mexico asserted 
(and many of the 
best historians think 
she was correct) 
that the Nueces 
River formed the 
dividing line be- 
tween the two coun- 
tries. The United States government ordered Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor, with a strong force, to occupy the 
disputed territory, with headquarters near Corpus 
Christi. Later he advanced to the Rio Grande and built 
Fort Brown across from Matamoras. The Mexicans 
tried to resist this movement, but failed. 

Various United States citizens had just claims against 
the Mexican government ; in spite of numerous promises 




Thomas J. Rusk 



226 THE MEXICAN WAR [1846 

to pay, these claims were not settled. So much bad 
feeling had been created by the boundary dispute and 
the question of debts that the declaration of war against 
Mexico by Congress (May, 1846) was welcomed by 
most of the American people. 

Texas' Record in the War. — The legislature author- 
ized General Henderson to take command of all Texas 
troops called upon to serve in the war. The United 
States asked for two regiments of cavalry and two of 
infantry from Texas. The Governor left his civil duties 
in charge of Lieutenant-Governor Horton, and took his 
place in the army. He was made a major-general of 
the Texas militia, and so distinguished himself at Monte- 
rey that congress voted him a sword. President Polk 
offered Houston and Rusk the rank of brigadier-general 
in the United States army, but they remained in the sen- 
ate, in obedience to the wishes of their countrymen. It 
is estimated that about eight thousand Texans served 
as volunteers during this war. The gallant Rangers, 
under Colonel John Hays, won lasting fame. Among 
prominent Texans who served as officers were : Lamar, 
Burleson, Clark, Wood, Bell, Kinney, Bee, the McCul- 
lochs. Scurry, Chevalie, Walker, Buchel, and Albert Sid- 
ney Johnston. 

Results. — • The war with Mexico belongs to United 
States history and only two important battles, Palo Alto 
(pa'-l6 al'-to) and Resaca de la Palma (ra-sa'-ka da 
lah pahl-ma) [located near mouth of Rio Grande] were 
fought on Texas soil. Therefore no attempt is made 
here to give an account of the conflict. 

LTnder the leadership of General Winfield Scott and 
General Zachary Taylor, the war was one continued 
triumph for the Americans. September, 1847, the City 
of Mexico, notwithstanding her strong fortifications, sur- 



ERA VI] THE STATE 227 

rendered to General Scott. The Stars and Stripes waved 
over the Halls of the Montezumas and Mexico was forced 
to give up every claim to Texas. As Mexico had no 
money to pay the war indemnity, the United States 
agreed to take land. The Rio Grande was established 
as the boundary between Texas and Mexico; California, 
Utah, Nevada, a part of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyom- 
ming, and the most of Arizona, making a territory four 
times as large as France, were ceded to the United States. 
Thus Texas' annexation extended our country from ocean 
to ocean. The United States paid Mexico $15,000,000, 
and assumed the debts she owed in the United States. 



BOUNDARY QUESTION 



WOOD'S 3 ADMINISTRATION 

[John A. Grccr, Lieutenant-Governor] 
(I 847-1 849) 

BELL'S^ ADMINISTRATIONS 

[John A, Greer and J. IV. Henderson,'Lieiitenant' 

Governors] 

(1849-1853.) 
The Boundary Between Texas and New Mexico. — 

As has been stated, Texas claimed the Rio Grande from 
mouth to source as her western boundary, but had never 
been able to establish her authority over the country 
about Santa Fe. At the close of the Mexican war, cer- 
tain prominent men in the United States took the posi- 
tion that this disputed strip of country was really a por- 
tion of New Mexico and should be organized as a part 
of the territory of New Mexico. Underneath all the 
discussion that followed was the question of slavery, 



228 



BOUNDARY QUESTION 



[1850 



which entered at this time every question of public in- 
terest. The free states opposed Texas' claims, because 
as Texas was a slave state, the granting her claims would 
increase slave 
territory; the 
southern states 
naturally sided 
with Texas as 
they wished to 
extend the power 
of the slave 
states. Late in 
1848 the people 
of New Mexico 
including those 
about Santa Fe 
declared against 
slavery and 
against becoming 
a part of Texas. 
This action dis- 
turbed the Tex- 

ans. Some favored taking Santa Fe by force ; among 
these were Governor Wood and later Governor Bell. 
Others wished to withdraw from the Union. 

The Compromise of 1850. — The United States Con- 
gress passed in 1850 a series of bills yielding certain rights 
both to free and to slave states, hoping thus to quiet the 
bitter strife that threatened the very life of our country.^ 
The Boundary Bill offered Texas $10,000,000 for the 
portion of New Mexico and a strip running into Wy- 
oming claimed by her. (Page 230.) One-half the purchase 
money was to be kept in the United States treasury, to 
pay certain debts made by the Republic of Texas, and 
for the payment of which her custom-house receipts had 




Governor W^ood 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



229 



been pledged. Texas was required to accept or reject 
the proposition by December, 1850. 

Texas Accepts the Boundary Bill. — Public feeling 
in Texas was at a high pitch. Some denounced the 
keeping half the money in the United States treasury 
as an insult to Texas ; they declared that it was equivalent 
to saying, " Texas is dishonest : she will not pay her 

debts even if 
she have the 
means." Others 
vowed they 
would never 
part with an 
acre of the soil 
for which they 
had " fought 
and bled." The 
demagogues of 
the day told the 
people this was 
the first step of 
the central gov- 
ernment toward 
assuming abso- 
lute power. On 
the other hand, 
those devoted to the best interests of the state argued 
that Texas had already as much land as she could 
manage ; that she was deeply in debt, and her cred- 
itors were daily growing more pressing. A special ses- 
sion of the legislature was called, and the offer of the 
United States was accepted by an overwhelming ma- 
jority (November 25). 

The Gold Fever. — The year 1849 was marked by a 




Governor Bell 



230 



BOUNDARY QUESTION 



[1-850 




The Boundary Established in 1850 



ERA VI] THE STATE 23I 

distressing failure in crops. Just at this time, there came 
wonderful stories of the discovery of gold in California. 
Men from all parts of the United States flocked to the 
Pacific coast ; many of the " forty-niners," who suffered 
untold hardships in the long march westward, were from 
Texas. 

Austin Again Chosen the Capital. — The State Con- 
stitution provided that in 1850 the people should select 
a capital for the next twenty years. Austin received a 
large majority of all votes cast. 

Henderson Governor. — Governor Bell in 1853 ^^' 
signed to accept a seat in congress ; Lieutenant-Governor 
J. W. Henderson took his place. 



DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY 



PEASE'S 6 ADMINISTRATIONS 
[D. C. Dickson and Hardin R. Runnels, Lieutenant- 
Governors] 

(1853-1857.) 

Public Debts. — When Congress came to settle the 
debts of the Texas Republic, it was found that the five 
millions kept in the United States treasury for that pur- 
pose would not be enough. At this point, Texas pre- 
sented a bill against the United States for money spent 
in defending the borders from Indians who lived in the 
United States. To grant justice to all, in February, 
1855, Congress appropriated $2,750,000* more for 
Texas's claims, and all debts were settled."^ 

Railroad Law. — The population of Texas was in- 
creasing, but not as rapidly as was desired. Her wisest 
men saw that to people so large an area would be the 
work of a century, unless the railroads could be induced 



232 



THE SCHOOLS 



[1856 



to join North and South, East and West, by their magic 
bands. To bring this about, the legislature offered six- 
teen sections of land for every mile of road built. 

School Funds. — Governor Pease was a warm friend 
of public education. He recommended the Legislature 
to set aside a permanent school fund, and to establish 
a State university. The legislature appropriated two 
millions o f t h e 
money received 
from the United 
States for a perma- 
nent school fund, 
thus taking the first 
practical step to- 
ward building up a 
public-school sys- 
tem in Texas. 

Public Institu- 
tions. — In August, 
1856, the legisla- 
ture appropriated 
one hundred thou- 
sand acres of land 
for each of four 
asylums — the 
blind, the deaf and 
dumb, the insane, and the orphan. The first three of 
these were opened during the administration of Pease and 
Runnels, as were also the new land office (1857), the 
Governor's mansion and the first state capitol (1853). 

Negro Uprising. — Affairs in Mexico were in such a 
troubled condition that scores of Mexican laborers sought 
refuge in Texas. Some of these married negro slaves. 
In 1856, in Colorado County, it was discovered that the 




Governor Pease 



ERA VI] THE STATE 233 

negroes were on the point of rising against their masters ; 
tliey had organized, and had collected a supply of arms. 
Their plan was to murder the whites, seize all the prop- 
erty they could carry with them, and then flee to Mexico. 
Two hundred of the negroes were severely punished, a 
few of them being put to death. Nor did the trouble end 
here. It was believed that the instigators of the plot 
were Mexicans, hence a violent prejudice against all 
Mexican laborers sprang up throughout Colorado and 
the adjoining counties. Public meetings were held in 
Colorado and Alatagorda counties, and the Mexicans 
were ordered to leave. Planters were advised to employ 
no Mexican servants. 

The Cart War. — At this time Mexican teamsters 
were doing most of the hauling from the seaports to 
San Antonio, for they worked more cheaply than Texan 
wagoners. In spite of public warnings, farmers and 
merchants continued to employ the labor they could get 
for the least money. The Texas teamsters and their 
friends then attacked the teams of the Mexicans, stole 
their goods, killed their animals, destroyed their wagons, 
and, in some cases, murdered the drivers. Indignant at 
the cruelty inflicted upon his countrymen, the Mexican 
minister (October, 1857) complained to the United 
States authorities. In November, Governor Pease sent 
two special messages, bearing upon this subject, to the 
legislature, and finally, to protect the Mexicans ordered 
out militiamen, who, with the assistance of law-abiding 
citizens, restored order. 

Know-Nothing Party. — It was during this time that 
the " Know-Nothing Party " gained some strength in 
Texas. This party was opposed to foreign-born citi- 
zens and to the Catholics. Their meetings were held 
in secret. In 1855 they succeeded in electing their can- 



234 



REMOVAL OF INDIANS 



[1858 



didate for Congress from the Eastern district. In 1855 
they nominated for governor D. C. Dickson, but he was 
defeated. With the reelection of Pease, the '' Know- 
Nothing Party " in Texas began to dechne, and soon dis- 
appeared from pubHc notice. 



RUNNELS'S 8 ADMINISTRATION 
[F. R. Lubbock, Lieutenant-Governor^ 

(1857-1859.) 
Indian Reservations. — Some twelve miles below Fort 
Belknap, on the Brazos River, there had been set aside 
(1855) a reservation for the remnants of various tribes 
of Texas Indians ; forty-five miles further west, on the 
Clear Fork of 
the Brazos, was 
another reserva- 
tion, on which 
over two hun- 
dred Comanches 
were placed. 
Agents were ap- 
pointed by the 
United States 
authorities t o 
devote the m- 
selves to teach- 
ing these sav- 
ages to till the 
soil, to live at 
home, to erect 
public buildings 
— in short to be- 
come civilized men 




Governor Runnels 



ERA VIj THE STATE 235 

Indians Driven Out. — For three years the efforts of 
the agents were most successful, but in 1858 there oc- 
curred in the vicinity of the Indian colonies, and near the 
trail of their hunting-grounds, various acts of theft and 
violence. Every disturbance was charged to the red 
men. The agents investigated the charges, and declared 
that in a few cases the Comanches had been guilty, but 
that the Brazos Colony was entirely free from blame, 
and that the majority of the acts of violence had been 
committed by unscrupulous white men, who felt safe in 
so doing, as they could rely upon popular prejudice to 
lay all crimes upon the Indians. The citizens heeded 
nothing said by the agents, but demanded the removal of 
the Indians from Texas, and threatened violence if their 
demands were not granted. To prevent bloodshed, the 
United States, in July and August, had nearly fifteen 
hundred colonists from both reservations moved to lands 
on the Washita River, Indian Territory. 

Progress. — During the administrations of Pease and 
Runnels immigration came from all sections of Europe 
and the United States. To the Germans, who settled 
largely in South and Southwest Texas, the state owes 
much. They brought with them love for law, order, 
music and education. Public buildings were erected, 
crops flourished, trade increased, and the people began to 
gather about them many comforts and some luxuries. 



THE CIVIL WAR 



HOUSTON'S ADMINISTRATION 

[Edward Clark, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1859 — March 16, 1861.) 

Election of Houston. — On March 4, 1859, Houston 

closed his second term as United States senator.. In 



236 BORDER TROUBLES [1859 

September he ran as independent candidate for governor 
and defeated Runnels, the regular Democratic nominee. 
Cortina. — Juan Cortina, a daring Mexican, invaded 
Texas with some four or five hundred men and by theft 
and murder kept the whole Southwest country in terror 
for several months during 1859. Finally the Rangers 
aided by the United States troops drove Cortina into 
Tamaulipas. 

Indians on the Border. — The Indians who had been 
removed from Texas still looked with longing eyes upon 
their old homes. Hating the race who had taken their 
places, they lost no opportunity of coming back by 
stealth, and doing the whites all the injury their savage 
cunning could suggest. The governor was forced to 
order out the Rangers more than once to drive back the 
Indians.^ 

Condition of the Country. — From the beginning of 
Houston's administration, the whole United States was 
excited over the presidential election. Most of the south- 
erners felt that, if Lincoln were elected, civil war would 
surely follow. Many feared that the slaves were on the 
point of rebelling. Leaving the L^nion was discussed 
on every side, and all felt uneasy over the future. 

Governor Houston Opposes Secession. — In i860 
Lincoln was elected president of the United States ; the 
war-clouds gathered thick and fast. Houston was op- 
posed to the State's leaving the Union, and did all he 
could to prevent it. The majority of the people favored 
secession, and had no sympathy with the governor's 
views. 

Texas Secedes. — As Governor Houston was not will- 
ing to call a convention, several leaders of the secession 
movement issued a call for the election of a convention, 
whereupon Houston called an extra session of the legis- 



ERA VI] THE STATE 237 

lature to meet January 21, 1861, to consider what should 
be done. The people were too excited by this time, 
however, to wait for, or be satisfied with, the legislature. 
On January 8 they elected delegates to a State Conven- 
tion. This body assembled in Austin January 28, 1861, 
and was immediately recognized by the legislature as 
representing the will of the people. By a vote of one 
hundred and sixty-six *' ayes " to seven '' nays '' Texas 
withdrew from the Union. This action was submitted 
to the people, and was ratified by an overwhelming ma- 
jority. 

Texas Joins the Confederacy. — The Convention de- 
cided that Texas should join the Confederate States of 
America, of which Jefferson Davis was the honored Presi- 
dent, and Montgomery, Alabama, the capital. Officers 
were required to take the oath of allegiance to the new 
government. This was willingly done by all but General 
Houston, Secretary of State Cave, and Adjutant-General 
Norton. Their offices were declared vacant. Houston re- 
fused to retire, saying that neither legislature nor con- 
vention had the right thus to deprive him of honors 
granted him by the citizens. In spite of his protests, 
Lieutenant-Governor Clark was sworn in as governor. 



CLARK'S ADMINISTRATION^^ 

(march, 1861 DECEMBER, 1861.) 

Preparations for War. — The North declared the 
South had no right to secede. When Fort Sumter 
fell (see United States History) even the most hope- 
ful citizen felt that a terrible struggle had begun. On 
June 8 Governor Clark issued a proclamation declar- 
ing that war actually existed ; officers began to enroll 
volunteers. By November, there were some fifteen thou- 



238 



CIVIL WAR 



[1861 



sand Texans in the Confederate service. All intercourse 
with the North was forbidden. Northern citizens were 
given twenty days in which to leave the state. The 
United States troops (under command of Major-Gen- 
eral Twiggs) 
who were sta- 
tioned in Texas 
were forced to 
surrender. The 
Texans paroled 
the officers and 
set the privates 
at liberty. 
United States 
property to the 
amount of $1,- 
200,000 fell into 
the hands of the 
State. 

Blockade. — In 
July the port of 
Galveston was 
blockaded by a 
northern squad- 
ron. Soon the entire coast had no communication with 
the outside world except when some daring blockade- 
runner succeeded in slipping through the Federal fleet 
by night. 




Governor Clark 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



239 



LUBBOCK'S 11 ADMINISTRATION 
[John M. Crockett, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1861-1863.) 

Sibley Expedition. — The Confederates determined to 
g-ain control of New Mexico. As in the summer of 
1861 Lieutenant-Colonel John C. Baylor had captured 
seven hundred northern troops and gained a foot-hold on 

the Rio Grande 
in New Mexico, 
early in 1862 
General Sibley 
felt encouraged 
to plan a vigor- 
o u s campaign. 
In February 
General Sib 1 e y, 
with the aid of 
the heroic Tom 
Green, won a 
decided vict o r y 
over General 
C a n b y at Val 
Verde and took 
possession of Al- 
buquerque and 
Santa F e. In 
July, however, the Federals so far outnumbered the Con- 
federates that Sibley was forced to retire from that ter- 
ritory. 

Galveston Captured. — October 4, 1862, Commander 
Renshaw, with four war-vessels ^^ and a well-disciplined 
land force, captured Galveston Island, meeting with little 




Governor Lubbock 



240 GALVESTON RETAKEN [1863 

resistance from the Confederate troops. About the same 
time Corpus Christi and the defenses of Sabine City were 
captured by the Federals. 

Galveston Retaken. — One of the most brilHant ex- 
ploits of the Texans was the recapture of Galveston. In 
November, General Magruder was placed in command 
of the Southern forces on the Texas coast. He deter- 
mined to expel the Northern forces from Galveston Is- 
land. His preparations were made with the greatest 
care and secrecy. As the Sibley expedition had just 
returned, General Magruder found them eager to be led 
against the enemy. He changed four river steamers 
into gunboats by piling up compressed cotton bales for 
bulwarks and manning them with suitable men and can- 
non. The gunboats were to sail to the head of the bay 
and open fire on the Federals just as the moon sank 
below the horizon on the morning of January ist, while 
at the same moment Magruder was to attack the land 
forces. The Massachusetts regiment that was encamped 
on one of the wharves of the city, and the Union war- 
vessels that lay in the harbor or toward the pass, knew 
nothing of the danger that threatened them. With the 
opening of the fourth hour of the New Year, Magruder 
led his men to the attack. The Northern soldiers fought 
bravely, but were forced to surrender. The gunboats, 
being delayed, were unable to open battle at the ap- 
pointed hour, but when the conflict did begin, the scene 
was most exciting. The Harriet Lane was first at- 
tacked; the Confederate boat Bayou City ranged along- 
side and the rigging of the two ships became entangled. 
Leaping on the enemy's deck, the Texans waged a deadly 
hand-to-hand fight ; great heroism was shown ' on both 
sides ; Commander Wainwright and his second officer 
being killed, the Harriet Lane struck her colors. The 



ERA VI] THE STATE 24I 

Neptune received a fatal shot and sank. The Westfield, 
being in great danger of capture, was blown up by the 
Federals, and unfortunately, the commander and some 
of his men were killed by the explosion. The other ves- 
sels escaped. For a few days Galveston was once more 
an open port, but the blockade was soon replaced. Gal- 
veston Island remained in possession of the Confederates 
till the close of the war. 

Battle of Sabine Pass. — The Confederates, early in 
1863, had driven the Federals from Sabine Pass, and 
built a strong fort, defended by heavy guns. From Sa- 
bine Pass, a railroad extended into the interior of the 
state. General Banks, the Northern commander, felt 
that if he could capture the Pass, it would be an easy 
matter to seize the road, push on to Houston, take pos- 
session of all other railways, and thus conquer Texas. 
With all this in view, he ordered some four thousand 
troops to embark for Sabine Pass, where he hoped to 
take the garrison by surprise. Captain Richard Dow- 
ling was in command of the fort. The orders of Gen- 
eral Banks were not well carried out, for when the Union 
vessels reached the Pass, Captain Dowling and his men 
were ready to receive them. When, on September 8, 
the Union fleet commenced a bombardment, the guns 
in the fort were silent till the enemy came within close 
range; then there burst forth so furious a fire that 
two of the Federal vessels were wrecked and the others 
sailed hastily away. The Union commander lost two 
vessels, one hundred killed and wounded, and two hun- 
dred and fifty prisoners : these results are remarkable 
since not more than fifty Confederates took part in the 
battle. President Jefiferson Davis presented the garrison 
with a silver medal, in honor of the victory. 

Houston's Death. — General Houston died at his home 



242 CIVIL WAR [1863 

in Huntsville, July 26, 1863.1 ^ Death hushed all bitter 
differences of opinion, and the whole state united to 
mourn his loss. His last appearance in public was in 
March, 1863, when in an address to the people of Hous- 
ton he said : " I have been buffeted by the waves, as I 
have been borne along Time's ocean, until, shattered 
and worn, I approach the narrow isthmus which divides 
it from the sea of eternity beyond. Ere I step forward 
to journey the pilgrimage of Death I would say that all 
my thoughts and hopes are with my country. If one 
impulse arises above another, it is for the happiness of 
these people : the welfare and glory of Texas will be 
the uppermost thought while the spark of life lingers in 
this breast." 



HURRAH'S 14 ADMINISTRATION 

[Fletcher S. Stockdale, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1863 — JUNE 17, 1865.) 

General Banks on the Coast. — Late in 1863, General 
Banks took possession of Brownsville, Corpus Christi, 
Aransas Pass, Indianola, and other points on the coast, 
but did not hold them long. The next March, Generals 
Banks and Steele tried to enter Texas by way of Shreve- 
port and the Red River, but were defeated at the Battle 
of Mansfield. Northern troops troubled Texas no more. 

Few Battles on Texas Soil. — Texas was in the ex- 
treme southwest corner of the Confederacy ; her popula- 
tion was scant. There was so much to engage the attention 
of the Northern armies, at the great centers of action, that 
they had little time to think of Texas, nor did they deem 
it necessary to send large forces into her boundaries. The 
battles fought in the state were not of great importance. 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



243 



but her sons covered themselves with glory upon many a 
well-fought field beyond the Mississippi. Hood's, Ross' 
and Granbury's brigades, the Terry Rangers and the nth 
Texas Cavalry were famous for their daring bravery.^^ 
Condition of Texas. — While Texas suffered from the 
war, yet her condition was much better than that of the 
other Southern states. She had perhaps 75,000 men in 

the Confederate 
service; she 
voted money in 
generous sums ; 
her people often 
gave up their 
private prop- 
erty; she en- 
dured the mis- 
eries of the 
conscript and 
of martial law ; 
her mothers, 
wives and sis- 
ters knew many 
a heartache. 
But while the 
people in other 
Con federate 
states suffered 
from hunger, the broad prairies of Texas teemed with 
rich harvests. No hostile army invaded her territory. 
She got salt from her own lakes in the south-west. 
She took her cotton to the Rio Grande and there ex- 
changed it for such goods as the Mexican market af- 
forded. The military board, of which the Governor was 
chairman, established factories for the making of articles 




Governor Murrah 



used in war. The Huntsville Penitentiary turned out 
2,000,000 yards of cloth. Texas was well called the store- 
house of the Confederacy. Many refugees from Arkan- 
sas, Louisiana, and Mississippi fled to Texas. 

Close of War. — For four years the South had strug- 
gled against fearful odds. Having done all that mortals 
could, in 1865 she wisely gave up the conflict. After 
General Lee, idolized by the South, respected by the 
North, surrendered his sword (April 9, 1865), the re- 
maining Southern forces yielded rapidly. General E. 
Kirby Smith made formal surrender of his department, 
which included Texas. 

Last Battle of the War. — The last shot in the war 
was fired on Texas soil May 13, 1865, at Palmito on the 
Rio Grande. Near the grounds already made historic 
by the battle of Palo Alto, there was encamped a small 
band of Confederates under General J. E. Slaughter. 
Colonel Barret sent a force of Federals from Brazos 
Santiago to march upon Brownsville. The Southerners 
came to the defense of the town and a spirited engage- 
ment followed, in which the Texas cavalry charge, 
under Colonel Ford, was especially heroic. The Fed- 
erals were forced to retreat. So ended the final struggle 
in what, may God grant, shall be the last civil war ever 
to come upon our beloved country. 

Lawlessness. — In his message to the legislature, May, 
1865, Governor Murrah said : " The voice of the law is 
hushed in Texas. It is a dead letter — an unhonored 
thing upon the pages of the statute-book." The state 
was now filled with weary, heartsick soldiers returning 
home. When one remembers the unhappy condition of 
those men, how much they had sufifered, and how dark 
the future appeared, he will not wonder that a few 
among them grew desperate, as there was no law to 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



245 



restrain them. On June 11, the state treasury was 
robbed. At first only pubhc property suffered, but soon 
private property was taken. Worn out in mind and 
body, finding himself powerless to enforce his com- 
mands, and not knowing what dangers the future might 
have in store for him, the distressed Governor took 
refuge in Mexico. 



MILITARY RULE AND TIME OF RECONSTRUC- 
TION 



HAMILTON'S ADMINISTRATION i^ 
(July, 1865 — August, 1866.) 

General Granger in Command. — On June 19,^''' 1865, 
General Granger, of the United States army, took com- 
mand of Texas. 
He proclaimed the 
freedom of all 
slaves and de- 
Glared void all 
laws made by the 
legislature since 
Texas seceded. 

Hamilton A p- 
pointed Governor. 
— On June 17, 
Andrew Johnson, 
President of the 
United States, ap- 
pointed A. J. 
Hamilton as pro- 
visional governor 
o f Texas. When 
in July Governor 




Governor Hamilton 



246 RECONSTRUCTION [1866 

Hamilton reached the state he showed a desire to do his 
duty both to Texas and to the Union. He issued a proc- 
lamation, advising the negroes to prove themselves 
worthy of their freedom by obeying the law, remaining 
with their former masters and working for moderate 
wages. He told them the United States government 
had no intention of giving them property and warned 
them against believing stories about " forty acres and a 
mule " to be presented each freed slave. 

Reconstruction Convention. — The Governor called 
for an election of a convention that should reconstruct 
the state government. No one was permitted to vote at 
this election except those taking an oath prescribed by 
the President. The convention met, February, 1866, at 
Austin. It declared " secession a nullity," and gave up 
all rights to such action ; all debts made for the carrying 
on of the war or for the support of the Confederacy were 
made invalid ; all the proceedings of the Convention of 
1861 were rendered null and void. The Constitution in 
force before the war was again put into effect. An elec- 
tion for state officers was held the last Monday in June, 
1866. J. W. Throckmorton was chosen governor, and 
George W. Jones lieutenant-governor. 



THROCKMORTON'S 18 ADMINISTRATION 
[G. W, Jones, Lieutenanf-Goz'ernor] 

(august, 1866 AUGUST, 1867.) 

The President and Congress. — At this time Presi- 
dent Johnson and Congress were at enmity. Whatever 
Johnson favored, Congress opposed. The student who 
keeps this in mind will not be surprised to find many 
changes and inconsistencies in the government of the 
seceded states. 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



247 



Texas Again Under Military Rule. — In March, 1867, 
Congress passed a bill placing the South again under 
military rule. The President vetoed the bill; Congress 
passed it over his veto. The South was divided into five 
military districts, and General Sheridan was made mili- 
tary commander 
of District 
Number 5, 
which included 
Texas and 
L o u is i a n a. 
Some four 
thousand 
troops were 
stationed in the 
state, under the 
command of 
General Griffin, 
with headquar- 
ters at Galves- 
t o n. All civil 
elections were 
forbidden until 

thev should be Governor Throckmorton 

ordered by the general government. The tests of regis- 
tration were made more severe ; no one could hold office 
who was unable to take the " iron-clad oath." ^^ 

Governor Removed. — The Radical Party in the North 
did not trust the South. They felt we would not grant 
the negro full rights unless forced so to do. Hence, they 
demanded military rule. The South claimed, "We have 
been admitted again to the United States as states. Hence, 
we have a right to rule ourselves by civil officers, not to be 
ruled over by soldiers, some of whom are our former 




248 RECONSTRUCTION [1867 

slaves." During these trying times, Governor Throck- 
morton did all in his power to carry out the commands of 
Sheridan's officers, and yet act justly toward his state. 
In spite of this, on July 30th, he was removed by General 
Sheridan, and E. M. Pease was appointed governor. 



PEASE'S ADMINISTRATION 

(august, 1867 SEPTEMBER, 1869.) 

General Hancock. — Sheridan was now removed, and 
General Hancock was placed in command of Texas. 
Hancock forbade the military to interfere to such an ex- 
tent with civil afifairs ; he encouraged the people to take 
matters into their own hands ; he made the registration 
laws more lenient. But this displeased the rabid leaders 
of Congress, and Hancock 20 was displaced. 

Convention Called. — In 1868 it was decided to call 
a convention that should form a new state constitution 
according to the instructions of Congress. This was 
done with a view of gaining -the re-admission of Texas 
to the Union. Little interest was taken in the matter 
by the majority of the best citizens, who seemed to have 
fallen into a state of indifference concerning all public 
matters. On June i the convention met in Austin. 
Two opposing factions sprang up, and great bitterness 
of feeling was shown. After a session of three months, 
which cost the state $100,000, the convention adjourned 
without being able to form a constitution. In Decem- 
ber they met again, and finally in February, 1869, amid 
the greatest confusion, no quorum being present, the 
convention ceased to exist. Through the efforts of 
General Canby, then military commander of Texas, from 



ERA VI] THE STATE 249 

the rough copy of the minutes of the convention, a con- 
stitution was prepared to submit to the people. 

Governor Pease Resigns. — Governor Pease, feeUng 
that he could do neither himself nor the state justice 
while he was under the control of military officers, re- 
signed, September 30, 1869. 

Constitution Adopted. — In November, 1869, the new 
constitution was ratified by the people. At the same 
time, according to military orders, an election for state 
officers was held, and Edmund J. Davis was chosen gov- 
ernor. 



DAVIS'S 21 ADMINISTRATION 
[/. W. Flanagan, Lieuenant-Governor.] 

(1870-1874). 

Texas Re-admitted to the Union. — In February, 
1870, .the Texas legislature ratified the fourteenth and 
fifteen amendments 22 to the United States Constitu- 
tion. On March 30, 1870, by act of congress, Texas 
was re-admitted to the Union. Her senators and rep- 
resentatives once more entered the halls of congress and 
military rule was withdrawn. 

Work of Twelfth Legislature. — The legislature that 
met April 1870 passed a Homestead Law, granting to 
every married settler one hundred and sixty acres, and 
to each single settler eighty acres of land from the public 
domain. Laws were enacted for building up a system 
of public schools. Much bitter feeling was aroused by 
the legislature's giving the governor power to proclaim 
martial law and to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, 
a power that Governor Davis used more than once. The 
masses of the people were also opposed to the severe 



250 



IN THE'UNTON 



[1870 



election laws enforced and to the establishment of a state 
police force largely made up of negroes, this force being 
under the direct control of the governor. 

Hope for the People. — With the return of civil au- 
thority, however, the prospects grew brighter for the 
thousands of Texans who had served in the Southern 

army. C o n- 
gress passed a 
bill removing 
disabilities from 
the majority of 
the ex-Confed- 
erates. Those 
who were not 
included in this 
list could secure 
the full rights 
o f citizen s hi p 
by applying to 
Congress ; the 
" i r o n-c 1 a d 
oath " was n o 
longer required. 
The Texans 
awoke from 
their lethargy 
and as early as 1872 the Democrats had a majority in the 
lower house of the legislature and had elected all con- 
gressmen. 

Austin Again Chosen. — In 1872, by popular vote, 

Austin was once more chosen to be the capital of Texas. 

Election Scenes Exciting. — As Governor Davis had 

been elected for four years, the year 1873 called for the 

election of state officers. The legislature passed (April, 




Governor Davis 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



^51 



1873) a bill changing the districts of the state and thus 
calling for a new election of senators and representatives. 
The Democrats nominated Richard Coke and Richard 
B. Hubbard for governor and lieutenant-governor. 
Governor Davis was a candidate for re-election. The 
campaign Wdb intensely exciting; the result showed a 
majority of at least fifty thousand for Coke and Hub- 
bard and for a Democratic legislature. A question as 
to whether the election law was constitutional was raised 
by the opposing 
party. The matter 
was referred to the 
State Supreme 
Court, which body 
decided the law to 
be unconstitutional. 
Governor Davis im- 
mediately issued a 
proclamation, for- 
bidding the con- 
vening of the four- 
teenth 1 e g islature, 
and denying that it 
had legal existence ; 

the thirteenth legislature was reconvened. The newly 
elected members of the fourteenth legislature paid no 
attention to this proclamation ; they hastened to Austin, 
took possession of the upper story of the Capitol, or- 
ganized, and went to work. Governor Davis refused 
to recognize them, or hold any communication with 
them. The night of January 13, 1874, will long be 
remembered. The ground-floor of the Capitol was oc- 
cupied by Davis, his officers, and a company of negro 
soldiers; above, were the fourteenth legislature, their 




Guy M, Bryan 



252 END OF RECONSTRUCTION [1874 

sergeants-at-arms, and guards. The senate and house 
immediately organized ; Guy M. Bryan ^3 of Galveston 
was chosen Speaker of the House. Late that night, the 
election returns were counted, and the legislature sol- 
emnly declared Richard Coke to be governor of Texas. 
The gravest fears were entertained, lest the night might 
close with bloodshed, but happily such was not the case. 
After a few days Davis retired from the governor's office 
in the Capitol, and Coke took possession. 



TEXAS OF TO-DAY 



COKE'S ADMINISTRATION 24 

[Richard B. Hubbard, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1874-1876) 

Fears of Interference. — Though Coke and Hubbard 
were installed in office, yet the state was by no means at 
ease. It was feared that the United States would in- 
terfere, as Davis had appealed to President Grant for 
aid. The President wisely answered that Texas was 
now a state of the Union, and must manage her own 
internal affairs. Davis, seeing there was no chance for 
him to regain his power, retired from the field. 

Difficulites. — Difficulties beset the new administration 
on every hand. At the close of the war, Texas had no 
debt worthy of mention ; in 1874 she owed tliree and a 
half millions, besides various undetermined claims. 
Many of the taxes had been left for years uncollected. 
The credit of the state was low. 

How These DifBculties Were Met. — Governor Coke 
employed the same strong business talent in state affairs 
that he had used successfully in private life. The laws 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



253 



for collecting taxes were strengthened. An agent was 
sent East to sell State bonds. In every department of 
the government true economy was practised. The wis- 
dom of this course was quickly proved, for Texas bonds 
soon increased in value. 

The Constitution of 1876. — The Constitution adopted 
in 1869 was unpopu- 
1 a r. The state offi- 
cers and legislators 
found i t impossible 
to remedy many of 
the evils then exist- 
ing so long as this 
constitution was i:i 
force. In September 
1875, a Constitutional 
Convention met at 
Austin. After two 
and a half months 
o f hard work, they 
presented the Con- 
s t i t u t i o n we now 
have. The Constitu- 
tion was ratified 
(February 15, 1876) 
by the people, the majority being nearly a hundred thou- 
sand, while, at the same time. Coke and Hubbard were 
reelected. 

Agricultural and Mechanical College. — Texas re- 
ceived from the United States land scrip for one hundred 
and eighty thousand acres, for the founding of an Agri- 
cultural and Mechanical College. The college was lo- 
cated at College Station, four miles from Bryan, and 
opened its doors October 4, 1876. 




Governor Coke 



254 



THE FRONTIER 



[1876 



Coke Resigns. — In May, 1876, Governor Coke was 
elected to the United States Senate. As he was not to 
take his seat in the Senate until March, 1877, he did not 
resign the governorship until December, 1876. 



HUBBARD'S ADMINISTRATION 25 

(December, 1 876-1 879) 

Penitentiaries. — The Huntsville penitentiary had been 
leased for a term of fifteen years. Complaints were con- 
stantly being made 
as to the cruel treat- 
m e n t of the con- 
victs, and other 
mat ters connected 
with the manage- 
m e n t. Governor 
Hubbard investi- 
gated the matter, 
and found truth in 
the complaints. He 
had the state again 
t o assume control 
of the penitentiary. 
In a short while, it 
was re-leased to re- 
s p o n sible parties ; 
the rent brought a 
handsome sum 
above all expenses. During this administration, the pen- 
itentiary buildings at Rusk were erected. 

Frontier Protected and Crime Punished. — Governor 
Hubbard was vigorous in hi§ defense of the frontier, 




Governor Hubbard 



ERA VI] THE STATE 255 

and the results were encouraging. For years bands of 
robbers and other lawless characters had held portions of 
the state in terror. The governor offered heavy rewards 
for the capture of such persons. As a result criminals 
who had long laughed at the laws were brought to jus- 
tice. A battalion of Rangers was detailed for frontier 
duty in order to protect the settlers from Indian and 
Mexican raids. 

Land forgeries had been extensively practised, some 
of the guilty ones being men in the higher classes of 
society : these forgers were brought to trial and several 
of them were sent to the penitentiary. 

Debt and Immigration. — In spite of the growing ex- 
penses of the state, the public debt was greatly reduced. 
In 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia 
Governor Hubbard delivered an address, setting forth 
the advantages Texas offered the immigrant. This 
speech was read throughout the United States ; it was 
translated into French and German, and scattered over 
Europe. The result was that during the next few years 
Texas received a vast number of immigrants from 
Europe and America; from 1870 to 1880 the population 
and the wealth of our state nearly doubled. 



ROBERTS'S ADMINISTRATIONS^^ 
[/. D. Sayers and L. J. Story, Lieutenant-Governors] 

(1879-1883) 

Governor's Policy. — The most characteristic feature 
of this administration was the strict " Pay-as-you-go " 
policy adopted by Governor Roberts. By his financial 
skill the state was able to pay all expenses, to reduce the 
public debt one and a half million dollars, to provide for 



256 



THE SCHOOLS 



1879 



lower taxation, and yet have a handsome balance left in 
the treasury. 

Prairie View Normal. — During this period the Prairie 
View Normal, a combination of a normal school and an 
agricultural and mechanical college, was founded for the 
training of colored teachers. 

Sam Houston Normal Institute. — In 1879 the first 
state normal school was opened at Huntsville ; it was 

named in honor 
of General 
Houston. 

School Leg- 
islation. — Gov- 
ernor Roberts 
was a zealous 
friend to public 
education. In 
1880 the gov- 
ernor and the 
State Board of 
Education estab- 
lished summer 
normal insti- 
tutes at various 
cities in the 
state ; these nor- 
mals were sup- 
ported by the state and the Peabody fund,-^ and did 
much good in training and encouraging teachers. In 
1 88 1 the legislature passed a law providing for the 
organization of a State University. The one million 
acres of land that had been set aside for the university 
were selected and surveyed. The legislature also set 
aside some three hundred leagues of public land, four 




Governor Roberts 



ERA VI] THE STATE 257 

leagues of which were tc bt given to every county that 
should be organized after that date. This land was to 
be used for school purposes. 




Galveston Sea Wall 

Capitol Burned. — On November 9, 1881, Austin was 
thrown into great excitement by the accidental burning 
of the Capitol. Many valuable state papers and relics 
perished in the flames. In 1882, a temporary building 
was erected at the foot of Capitol Hill. 



IRELAND'S ADMINISTRATIONS^^ 
[Marion Martin and Barneft Gihhs, Lieutenant-Gov- 
ern or s\ 

(1883-1887) 

School Laws. — Among the important improvements 
in the school laws during Governor Ireland's administra- 
tions were : the creation of the office of State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction ; the investment of the per- 
manent school fund in six per cent, bonds ; the stopping 
of the sale. of school lands at fifty cents per acre. 

State University. — As early as 1839, the Congress 
of the Texan Republic set apart forty acres of land in 
the future capital for the grounds of a State University. 



258 



THE FENCE CUTTERS 



[1884 



Fifty leagues of the public land were reserved for the 
support of the University. In 1881, a general election 
was held to locate the University. Austin was selected; 
and on College Hill, that had forty years before been 
chosen as a site, the corner stone of the University of 
Texas was laid November 17, 1882; and its doors were 
opened to students September 15, 1883. 

Asylums.^ The 
eighteenth legislature, 
guided by the recom- 
mendation of the gov- 
ernor, made appro- 
priations for the en- 
largement or im- 
provement of all asy- 
lums, and established 
a second asylum for 
the insane at Terrell. 
F e n c e-cutters. — 
For many years the 
public lands of Texas 
had been a free pas- 
ture for thousands of 
cattle. In 1881 and 
1882, this land was 
placed on the market. 
It sold rapidly, the 
buyers being mostly wealthy cattle men, who bought 
immense tracts. They at once began building wire 
fences about their property. The country was so sparse- 
ly settled that there was no one to keep the " cattle 
kings " from doing as they pleased ; hence it happened 
that often they did not stop with fencing their own 
land; hundreds of acres of school land were fenced. 




Governor Ireland 



ERA VI] THE STATE 259 

Few roads were left. Small lots belonging to poor men 
were either inclosed within these large fences, or they 
were so cut off from all roads as to be worthless. At 
length, a strong feeling arose against the cattle men; 
their fences were cut again and again. In January, 

1884, the governor called a special session of the legis- 
lature to settle the troubles. It was decided that all 
public roads must be left open ; that gates must be made 
every three miles; that persons whose land had been 
fenced without their consent should have full redress; 
that fence-cutting should be considered a felony. As 
soon as it was seen that the governor intended to execute 
these laws, the troubles ceased. 

Greer County Question. — The strip of land known 
as Greer County was considered a portion of the Texas 
Republic, but as early as 1859 the United States made 
claim to it. As we have seen, in 1819, a treaty had 
been drawn up between the United States and Spain, 
defining their boundary line ; the Red River formed a 
portion of the boundary. When, years after, this river 
was more fully explored, it was found to have two forks. 
Texas claimed the north fork to be the principal fork, 
and hence the Red River meant in the treaty. This 
would bring Greer County in Texas. The United States 
claimed the south fork to be the one meant by the treaty, 
and this would throw Greer County north of Texas, in 
the Indian Territory. As the county became more 
thickly settled, the question increased in importance. In 

1885, Congress decided to have four commissioners ap- 
pointed by the President to meet four commissioners 
from Texas, in order that the matter might be settled. 
The Texas Legislature agreed. The commissioners met, 
February, 1886, and spent several weeks in carefully 
investigating the matter. When the final vote came, the 



26o THE GREAT DROUGHT [1887 

four United States Commissioners favored the south 
fork as the Red River of the treaty, while the four Texas 
Commissioners favored the north fork. President 
Cleveland in 1888 issued a proclamation, warning settlers 
against buying property in Greer County. Texas 
brought suit against the United States ; in 1896 the 
United States Supreme Court decided the case against 
Texas. 



ROSS'S ADMINISTRATIONS^^ 
[T. B. Wheeler, Lieut cnant-Governor'\ 

(1887-1891) 

Prohibition. — The twentieth legislature decided to 
submit to the people an amendment to the state consti- 
tution prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in 
Texas. After one of the most exciting campaigns in 
the history of the state, the amendment was defeated, 
August, 1887, by a majority of over 90,000. 

Drought. — The summer of 1887 will long be remem- 
bered on account of the terrible drought that afflicted 
Texas, especially in the west. Crops were literally 
burnt up; cattle died by hundreds; many settlers were 
forced to seek new homes. 

Our New Capitol. — In 1875, the Constitutional 
Convention appropriated three million acres of land 
for building a new capitol. The burning of the old 
capitol, in 1881, made the proposed structure an 
immediate necessity ; accordingly the work was begun 
in 1883. On March 2, 1885, in the presence of 
a great multitude, the corner stone was laid ; the 
dedication took place in May, 1888. It is built of 
granite quarried in Burnet County, is three stories above 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



261 



the basement, is five hundred and sixty feet long, and 
two hundred and eighty-eight feet broad ; the dome rises 
majestically to a height of three hundred and eleven 
feet. At the time of its erection it was only second in 
size to the Capitol at Washington, and was the seventh 
largest building in the world. 

Immigration Movement. — Strong efforts were made 
during 1888 to 
bring more im- 
migrants into 
Texas ; clubs 
were organized, 
whose duty it 
was to arouse 
public interest, 
to scatter abroad 
literature show- 
ing the advan- 
tages of Texas, 
and to send out 
speakers to 
other states. 
The railroads 
gave reduced 
rates, and ex- 
t e n s i v e 1 y ad- 
V e r t i s e d the 
" Texas Excursions. 




Governor Ross 



The movement was a success. 



Money Received from the United States. — When 
Texas was admitted to the Union she expected as one 
of her privileges that her border would be protected by 
the United States troops. But such defence was not 
provided in all cases and the state was forced to incur 



262 PROSPERITY [1888 

heavy expenses in fitting- out companies of her own 
rangers for service on the border. She appealed to the 
government at Washington to refund this money, and, 
after much delay, in answer to the request, nearly a 
million dollars was paid into the Texas treasury. This 
sum was in effect distributed among the people by reduc- 
ing their taxes for one year (1888) from twenty-five to 
ten cents on the hundred dollars. 

New Pubic Institutions. — The State Orphan Asylum 
at Corsicana, the Reformatory for Boys at Gatesville, 
and the Southwest Asylum for the insane at San An- 
tonio were established during this administration. 

General Prosperity. — This was a period of general 
prosperity. Every branch of trade flourished, railroads 
were built rapidly, the value of property increased, 
taxes were reduced, the state was on a cash basis, and 
the school system was improved. 



HOGG'S ADMINISTRATIONS ^o 

[George C. Pendleton and M. M. Crane, Lieutenant- 
Governors] 

(1891-1895) 

President Harrison. — In 1891 President Harrison 
came to Texas and was entertained at Texarkana, Pales- 
tine, Galveston, Houston, San Antonio, Del Rio and EI 
Paso. Texas owes President Harrison a debt of grati- 
tude for his interest in securing deep water for Gal- 
veston. 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



263 



Improvement of Galveston Harbor. — During this 
period Congress appropriated six and one-half million 
dollars to improve the harbor and to secure deep water 
at Galveston : in later years this appropriation was in- 
creased to more than $10,000,000. If this effort is suc- 
cessful, it will result in untold good to the West and 
South, as it will open to them direct communication with 
the countries of Central and South America, and will 
make Galves- 
ton one of the 
most important 
ports in America. 
She already 
ranks second as 
an export city 
in the United 
States, 

Railroad Com- 
mission. — T h e 
twenty-s e c o n d 
1 e g i s 1 a ture in 
1 89 1 passed a n 
act to establish a 
Railroad Com- 
mission, consist- ^,„^,^^,^„, ij,^^ 
ing of three 

members. The duties of the commission were declared 
to be as follows : To adopt, regulate, and enforce rates 
to be charged by the railways of the state, and to pre- 
vent discrimination against persons or places. Opponents 
of the measure tested it on the ground that it was not 
constitutional ; a test case was brought before the 
United States Supreme Court. It was decided that the 
law was constitutional. Governor Hogg appointed, as 




264 



THE CONFEDERATE HOME 



[1891 



chairman of the commission, Senator John H. Reagan ^^ 
of Palestine. 

Alien Land Law. — In April, 1891, was created a law 
forbidding aliens (that is, persons who are not citizens 
of the United States) from holding lands in Texas. In 
1892, Governor Hogg called an extra session of the 
twenty-second legislature to consider, among other mat- 
ters, the changing of this Alien Land Law. The law 
was altered so that as it now stands, it provides that no 

alien shall acquire 
title to or own any 
land in Texas, with 
the following excep- 
tons : The law does 
not apply to persons 
owning land at the 
time the bill was 
passed ; aliens may 
own lots or parcels 
of land in towns, 
villages, and cities ; 
aliens who become 
inhabitants of the 
state may have a 1 1 
the rights to possess land that the citizens have; non- 
resident aliens who acquire real estate in Texas are 
given ten years in which to dispose of it; aliens who are 
not of age, who come into the possession of Texas lands 
may hold such lands till ten years after reaching majority. 
Confederate Home. — The John B. Hood Camp of 
Confederate Veterans had previously established in 
Austin a home for poor, maimed, and disabled ex-Con- 
federate soldiers. The number of veterans increased so 
rapidly that the Camp found itself unable to care for 




Senator John H. Reagan 



ERA VI] THE STATE 265 

them and the state was petitioned to assume control of 
the Home. In February, 1891, the legislature granted 
the petition; all property belonging to the Home was 
made over to the state, and the name was changed to the 
'* Texas Confederate Home." 

Sugar Bounty Refused. — In order to encourage the 
sugar industry, the government offered a bounty of two 
cents per pound on all sugar made in the United States. 
The state of Texas owns large sugar farms, on which 
she works her convicts ; such quantities of sugar were 
made by the state that the bounty amounted to $40,000 
per year. The legislature passed a bill to comply with 
certain conditions, made by the United States Govern- 
ment and to accept the bounty ; Governor Hogg, claiming 
that the government had no right to grant bounties, 
vetoed the bill. 

Division in Democratic Party. — In 1892 the Demo- 
cratic state convention met in Houston. Differences of 
opinion arose that finally resulted in a division of the 
convention, and for the first time in the history of the 
state there were two Democratic nominees for governor, 
James S. Hogg and George W. Clark, of Waco. After 
an exciting campaign, Governor Hogg was reelected. 

Coxey Army. — Amid the general unrest that per- 
vaded various sections of the country during 1893 and 
1894, Texas was alarmed over the entrance of a large 
body of men bound for Washington City, to join Coxey 's 
Army. Coxey was the leader of a band of unemployed 
men, who organized for the purpose of demanding the 
passage of various laws by Congress. While outside 
Texas territory, these men had forcibly seized a train of 
cars, nor were the railroad officials able to get rid of 
them before they had penetrated some distance into the 
state. Governor Hogg made a demand on the officials 



2(£ THE PANIC [1893 

of the road over which they came into the state, that they 
carry them out. The officials at first refused, saying 
there was no law by which they could be compelled to 
transport passengers free. Nevertheless after a few days 
of suspense as to what the future actions of the Coxey- 
ites might be, Texas was relieved by the railroads, which 
transported them (1894) beyond her borders. 

The Stock and Bond Law (1893) has for its aim the 
prevention of the extravagant issue of bonds by towns 
and cities ; also the protection of stockholders in rail- 
roads from bonds issued by fraud and from " watered 
stock" (stock issued beyond the real value). 

Board of Pardon Advisors (1893). — On the recom- 
mendation of Governor Hogg, the legislature created a 
Board of Pardons, whose duty it is to examine into and 
advise the governor concerning all applications for par- 
don. This board was created in order to relieve the 
executive of the immense amount of work that a careful 
investigation of pardon petitions demands. 

Austin Dam. — In 1893 the Austin Dam across the 
Colorado River was finished. This magnificent granite 
structure, costing more than $1,000,000, was said to be 
the greatest work of the kind in the w^orld. 

Financial Troubles. — During Governor Hogg's ad- 
ministration a panic swept over the whole country. The 
taxes had been reduced and this, added to the shrinkage 
in the value of property, and the necessary increase in 
the expenses of the state, all combined to make the years 
1893 and 1894 '' hard times " in Texas. The state treas- 
ury was empty, and the hundreds of teachers and other 
state employes were forced either to sell their vouchers 
at a heavy discount, or to wait months for their sal- 
aries. 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



267 



CULBERSON'S ADMINISTRATIONS'^^ 
[George T. Jester, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1895-1899) 

School Tax. — When the twenty-fourth legislature met 
(January, 1895), Governor Culberson recommended a 
number of im- 
portant matters. 
He called special 
attention to the 
danger that 
threatened our 
public schools 
from lack of 
money and 
showed that by 
the close of 1895 
the schools would 
be heavily in debt. 
Acting as he rec- 
ommended, the 
legislature raised 
the school tax 
from twelve and 
one-half to twen- 
ty cents on the one hundred dollars for the year of 1896, 
and to eighteen cents for the succeeding year. 

Land Leases. — It was found that men who had 
bought state land on credit failed to pay either principal 
or interest. Renters failed to pay rent; many buyers 
and renters gave up the land entirely. Large tracts of 
lands lay idle. The result was that the schools lost large 
sums of money ; other departments of the state govern- 




Governor Culbei-son 



268 NEW LAWS - [1895 

ment also suffered. As the choice sections of this pubHc 
land had been sold and paid for years before, the land 
for sale as late as 1895 was inferior. Hence the legis- 
lature reduced the rent of public lands, as well as the 
interest to parties who wished to buy on time. This act 
encouraged renters and buyers and caused a decided in- 
crease in the revenue. 

State University. — The regents of the State Uni- 
versity were given power to create the office of presi- 
dent of the University, and to manage all University 
lands. This action has done much to improve the useful- 
ness of the University. Doctor Leslie Waggener, the 
first president, rendered noble service. 

Confederate Home. — As already stated, in 1891 the 
Confederate Home became the property of the state. It 
was supported by fees received from various state de- 
partments. This plan not proving satisfactory, it was 
given (1895) a regular appropriation raised by direct 
taxation. 

Anti-trust Laws. — A trust is an organization formed 
mainly for the purpose of regulating the supply and price 
of articles. It is charged against trusts that they are 
dangerous to the best interests of the American people; 
that there are two great evils arising from all trusts : 
That they make and hold high prices; that they com- 
bine many small companies into one large company, thus 
reducing the working force and throwing men out of 
employment. As early as 1889 a law was made against 
trusts. In 1895 a much stronger law was passed. 

Arbitration Law. — Disputes often arise between an 
employer and his employees ; these disputes sometimes 
result in strikes that cost much loss of money and some- 
times even loss of life. To prevent these effects a law 
was made that enables the disputing parties to select cer- 



ERA VI] THE STATE 269 

tain unprejudiced men and lay before these men their 
grievances. These men, or arbitrators, as they are called, 
hear both sides of the story and then decide which party 
is in the right. 

Confederate Reunion. — In May, 1895, the reunion 
of the Confederate Veterans occurred in Houston. The 
attendance from all Southern states was even larger than 
the most sanguine expected, and the proceedings were 
most harmonious. There were present many Northern 
soldiers, who were treated as honored guests. Texas in 
general, and Houston in particular, left nothing undone 
to make the reunion a success. 

Special Session. — It was advertised throughout the 
length and breadth of America that a great prize-fight 
would take place in Texas during October, 1895. Gov- 
ernor Culberson said Texas should not be disgraced by 
having such a display of barbarism within her borders. 
He called an extra session of the Legislature to make a 
law strong enough to enable him to prevent the prize- 
fight. Acting upon his recommendation, the Legisla- 
ture (Oct. 3, 1895) made prize-fighting a felony, punish- 
able by confinement in the penitentiary. This forced the 
prize-fighters to go elsewhere. This action of the gov- 
ernor and legislature was greeted with enthusiasm by the 
entire state. 

Governor Vetoes Appropriation Bill (1897). — The 
twenty-fifth legislature passed a larger appropriation bill 
than Governor Culberson thought the state could afford. 
He vetoed the bill ; no other governor had ever vetoed 
the appropriation bill. The legislature adjourned without 
passing another appropriation bill. The governor imme- 
diately called a special session. The appropriation was 
reduced $400,000 and was then signed by the governor. 

Fee Bill. — Some of the state and county officers re- 



270 THE FLOODS [1899 

ceived no fixed salaries, but obtained their compensation 
from fees. These fees had grown to be enormous. The 
fee biU made sweeping reductions and thus saved the 
state a heavy expense. 

Spanish- American War. — April 21, 1898, the United 
States declared war against Spain. President McKinley 
called upon Governor Culberson for four regiments of 
infantry and one of cavalry, which were promptly fur- 
nished, and, in addition, the First United States Volun- 
teer Infantry regiment (Riche's Immunes) and about one 
battalion of Hood's Immunes were composed almost en- 
tirely of Texan volunteers. The regular army recruited 
a large number of men from our state, and many Texans 
joined Roosevelt's Rough Riders upon its organization 
in San Antonio and won fame at La Guasimas and San 
Juan Hill. The number of men furnished by Texas for 
service in this war totals not less than ten thousand.^ ^ 

Special Features of Culberson's Administration. — 
Governor Culberson vetoed more bills than any other 
governor; the people, as a rule, agreed with him. 

The trial of both civil and criminal cases was hastened. 
The criminal laws were expressed in simpler language, 
so that all classes of people might understand them. 

The cause of public education was strengthened. 

The finances of the state improved. Not only were all 
current expenses of the state met, but $1,300,000 was 
paid out on deficiencies. 



SAYERS'S ADMINISTRATIONS 

[/. A^. Browning, Lieutenant-G overnor] 
I 899-1 903) 
Brazos Floods. — Terrible floods swept over the whole 
Brazos valley in August, 1899, destroying seven and a 



ERA VII 



THE STATE 



271 



half million dollars' worth of property and laying waste 
600 square miles of our richest farming lands. Governor 
Sayers called for assistance to relieve the distress, and 
distributed more than seven hundred thousand dollars in 
money and supplies. 

Ruin of the Austin Dam. — After an unusual down- 
pour of rain, a 
section of the 
great Austin 
dam (April 7, 
1900) suddenly 
gave way ; the 
waters of the 
Colorado pour- 
ed in terrific 
torrents over 
the valley, 
causing some 
loss of life and 
great loss of 
property. Aus- 
tin lost not only 
the million dol- 
lars spent in 
building the 
dam, but also her pleasure resort, beautiful lake Mac- 
donald. 

Galveston Storm. — On September 8 and 9, 1900, the 
most severe hurricane that has visited North America 
swept over the southwestern coast. Galveston city and 
county suffered most. The barometer and other weather 
indications warned the people of approaching danger, but 
little attention was paid the signals; even on Saturday 
morning, when the waters rose, when the rain fell with 




Governor Sayers 



2^2 THE GALVESTON STORM [1900 

violence, when the wind grew higher and higher, people 
thought the storm would amount to little. By 8 P. M., 
however, the wind had increased to one hundred and 
twenty miles an hour, and Galveston realized that the 
awful calamity was upon her : men, women, and children 
battled for life against the waters of the bay, the waters 
of the Gulf, and — far more cruel than these — the awful 
fury of the gale ; thousands of houses were shattered or 
tossed like straws upon the waves ; thousands of human 
lives were lost ; in the darkness, mothers had children 
swept from their arms ; fathers, in an agony of despair, 
saw wives and little ones perish while they were power- 
less to save. Sunday morning dawned clear and bright, 
but surely the sun never looked down upon a sadder 
sight ; our fair " City by the Sea " lay in ruins ; every- 
where were death and desolation. For hours Galveston 
was entirely cut off from the outside world. Bravely 
did the people of the stricken city take up the burden laid 
upon them. The militia was ordered out to stop looting 
and violence. Men who had never known physical labor 
worked like slaves to clean the city and to burn the corpses 
that both the earth and the waves refused to keep. Gen- 
tle women toiled day and night nursing the injured, feed- 
ing the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the 
orphans, and comforting the broken-hearted. As soon 
as the disaster became known, the whole civilized world 
hastened to send assistance.^ ^ 

Loss of Life and Property. — It will never be known 
how many people perished in the storm. Governor Say- 
ers in his official report places the number at six thou- 
sand ; the property loss is estimated at $40,000,000. 

Course of Governor Sayers. — The sums contributed 
to the flood sufferers amounted to one and a half million 
dollars, besides a large amount of supplies of every kind. 



ERA VI] THE STATE 273 

Most of this passed through the governor's hands ; too 
much praise cannot be given to the prompt and efficient 
way in which these funds and supphes were managed. 

Galveston's Courage. — History has never shown a 
braver struggle than that made since the storm by the 
people of Galveston City and County. In 1901, in order 
to protect the city in future a contract was let for a con- 
crete seawall about the island ; this wall is sixteen feet 
wide at the base, sixteen feet high, and five feet wide 
on the top, curving from the bottom to the top on the 
Gulf side. The wall cost nearly $1,500,000, the money 
being raised by the issuance of bonds, which were taken 
by the people of Galveston City and County. 

Commission Form of Government. — As Galveston 
saw she must spend large sums of money to insure her 
safety, she obtained from the Legislature the power to 
elect five Commissioners instead of a Mayor and City 
Council. To these five men she entrusted all city affairs. 
So successful was the experiment that Houston, Waco, 
Austin, Fort Worth, Dallas and many cities in other 
states have adopted the Commission Form of government. 

Discovery of Oil. — As early as 1896 oil was found in 
paying quantities at Corsicana. On January 10, 1901, the 
Lucas Well on Spindletop Heights, about four miles 
southeast of Beaumont, began spouting, and for nine days 
it was "the wonder and puzzle of the world." Before it 
could be controlled it was "shooting upward a tower of 
pure, crude oil 200 feet, and Was wasting 70,000 barrels of 
oil per day." People from everywhere hurried to Beau- 
mont ; the crowd was enormous ; fabulous prices were 
paid for land ; other wells came in rapidly, and the excite- 
ment kept at fever heat. Within twelve months there 
were over 175 gushing wells on Spindletop. Oil has also 
been discovered at Sour Lake. While there are no 



274 PROGRESS [1902 

longer miraculous gushers at Beaumont or at other 
points, yet the oil industry in Texas has come to stay. 

Confederate Reunion. — In April, 1902, Dallas enter- 
tained the Confederate veterans ; every attention, every 
honor was shown these aged heroes, who gathered from all 
parts of the South to live over again the days of the past. 

Drought and Boll- Weevil. — The years 1901 and 1902 
were marked by severe and wide-spread droughts that 
caused a great decrease in crops. The Mexican boll- 
weevil made its appearance in many sections of the state, 
carrying ruin to the cotton crops. 

Railway Building. — In this administration 1344 miles 
of railway were built, a marked increase on the seven 
years preceding, when the road building showed 886 
miles. Electrical lines were also constructed, connecting 
Denison and Sherman, Dallas and Forth Worth. 

Art in Texas. — Orders were given (1901) the famous 
sculptor, Elizabeth Ney,"*^' for life-size marble statues of 
General Houston and Stephen F. Austin. These statues 
now stand in our state capitol, where, with impressive 
ceremony, they were unveiled January 19, 1903. In the 
Hall of Statuary in our national capitol at Washington 
two niches are reserved for each state. Later in 1901 
Miss Ney was commissioned to fill these with the statues 
of Austin and Houston and also to execute a suitable 
memorial to the gallant Albert Sidney Johnston. So 
successful was this work that it was admitted to the 
palace of fine arts at the St. Louis Exposition. Gov- 
ernor Sayers and the twenty-seventh legislature may well 
be called the patrons of art. 

North Texas Normal. — In September, 1901, the 
North Texas Normal School at Denton was opened. 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



275 



LANHAM'S ADMINISTRATIONS^^ 

[George D. Ncal, Lieutenant-Governor] 

(1903- I 907) 

Galveston County Taxes. — In order to assist Galves- 
ton in raising the city so as to prevent another overflow, 
the legislature (1903) ceded to the city for fifteen years 
all state taxes, and three-fourths of the occupation taxes, 
in Galveston county : all state poll taxes collected in Gal- 
veston county except the portion belonging to the public 
school fund were also given to the afflicted city. 

Educational Matters (1903). — Governor Lanham's 
administration was marked by special progress in educa- 
tional matters. 
The state public 
school age, was 
increased from 
seven to seven- 
teen years. A 
bill was passed 
providing for 
the introduction 
of manual train- 
ing into the state 
normals and the 
public schools. 
A special de- 
partment of tex- 
tile (pertaining 
to weaving) in- 
dustry was 
added to the 
Agricultural and 

were made to survey and to classify all mineral lands be- 
longing to the University, the public schools and th^ 




Governor l^anham 

Mechanical College. Arrangements 



276 



THE SCHOOLS 



[1906 



asylums. The Girls' College of Industrial Arts at Denton 
and the Southwestern Normal School at San Marcos be- 
gan their first session in September, 1903. 

New Institutions. — The colony for epileptics at Abi- 
lene was opened March, 1904. At the Austin Insane 
Asylum (1905) a Pasteur Institute was established for 
treating persons bitten by rabid animals. 

The Alamo Property. — Through the untiring efforts 
of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, in 1905, the 
legislature set aside $65,000 to buy a supposed part of 
the old Alamo mission adjoining the chapel, which has 
belonged to the state since 1883. 

Railroads. — Over sixteen hundred miles of railroad 
were built during this administration. December 31, 
1906, Texas had 12,580 miles of railway. 
Terrell Election Law. — Judge A. W. TerrelP^ of 

Austin was the author of 
a bill devoted to regulating 
and purifying all elections. 
This bill became a law in 
1905. 

. Irrigation. — There are 
portions of Texas that bear 
no crops because there is 
not sufficient rain-fall ; for 
years such lands were re- 
garded as nearly worthless, 
but now the people have 
awakened to the powers of 
irrigation. In 1905 a bill 
was passed enabling the 
people to form irrigation 
districts, to levy taxes and 
issue bonds for irrigating expenses. Large areas of land 
are thus being made valuable. 




Judge A. W. Terrell 



ERA VI] THE STATE 277 

CAMPBELL'S ADMINISTRATIONS ^^ 

[A. B. Davidson, Lieutenant-Governor, Legislatures 
Thirtieth and Thirty-Hrst] 

(1907-1911) 

Governor Campbell. — On January 15, 1907, Hon. 
Thomas Mitchell Campbell was inaugurated the twenty- 
fourth governor of Texas. Having been re-elected, he 
entered upon his second term January 19, 1909. 




Governor Campbell 

Labor Laws. — Among labor laws passed during these 
four years were: 

I. The Bureau of Labor was made a separate depart- 
ment of state government. (1902.) 



278 TAX LAWS [1907 

2. The State Mining Board was created to look after 
the safety of coal miners. (1907.) 

3. Railroads were required to provide enough men in 
their train crews to handle trains safely ; to equip all 
engines with electric headlights ; to limit number of 
hours a man may work without rest in operating a train. 
(1909.) Railroad employees were given the same right 
in suits for damages that other people enjoy. 

4. Employers were forbidden to blacklist employees. 
Tax Laws. — How to levy taxes with justice both to 

the poor and to the rich has puzzled the people for ages. 
The thirtieth and thirty-first legislatures passed sev- 
eral laws striving to improve tax conditions. 

The Full Rendition Law requires owners to place a 
fair market value on their property rendered for taxa- 
tion. (1907.) 

The Intangible Asset Lazv compels railroads to turn 
in much valuable property that had before escaped taxa- 
tion. About one hundred and seventy-five million dol- 
lars have thus been added to the tax rolls. (1907.) 

Department of Agriculture. — In 1907 the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, with a commissioner at its head, 
was made an independent department. Its duties are to 
give intelligent aid to the toiling masses, thus helping 
them to increase the products of farms, ranches and 
orchards. A law was passed requiring the elements of 
agriculture to be taught in the schools of Texas. New 
stations were established in different parts of the state to 
experiment with the best and the newest methods in 
farming and fruit cultivation. The Agricultural and 
Mechanical College has charge of these stations. 

Free Pass Law. — Railroad, telegraph and telephone 
companies were forbidden (1907) to give free passes to 
any one except their employees. 



ERA VI] THE STATE 279 

State Bank Guaranty Law forces all state banks to 
set aside certain funds to protect money deposited with 
them without interest. (1909.) 

A Great Fine. — Trusts are forbidden in Texas. The 
Waters-Pierce Oil Company, that did a large business in 
Texas, was accused of being a trust, was found guilty, 
and was expelled and forced to pay, April 24, 1909, 
$1,718,009.14. This was turned into the State Treasury 
to be used for the current expenses of Texas. 

Penitentiary Reform. — The most thoughtful people 
of Texas had long felt that we were not keeping up with 
the world in prison reform. Upon the recommendation 
of Governor Campbell, the thirty-first legislature ordered 
a thorough investigation of the whole penitentiary sys- 
tem. The committee appointed from the legislature 
found so distressing a state of aflfairs that they asked the 
governor to call a special session of the legislature to con- 
sider the situation. This was done August, 19 10. The 
legislature changed many conditions and created three 
commissioners, with full power to manage and to or- 
ganize the penitentiaries according to the best methods. 
It is unfortunate that the commissioners are appointed 
for two years only, as these officers should be removed 
as far as possible from politics. During this crusade for 
prison reform the press did much to arouse and to edu- 
cate the public conscience. 

School Laws. — The community system in country 
schools was abolished (1909). All counties of 3,000 or 
more inhabitants were required to have a County Super- 
intendent of Schools (1907). Money belonging to each 
school district must be placed so as to bear interest. This 
law has saved at least $125,000 to the schools (1909). 
An amendment to the constitution was adopted in 1909, 
giving the people of school districts the right by a ma- 



28o DISASTERS [1910 

jority vote to tax themselves as much as fifty cents on the 
one hundred dollars for school purposes. 

West Texas State Normal School was opened at 
Canyon City in 19 10. 

Library Commission. — In 1909 the State Library 
Commission was, organized, to take charge of the state 
library, to acquire and to preserve all material possible 
relating to Texas history, and to aid students of legis- 
lative problems. No one did more to bring this about 
than Dr. George P. Garrison, for so many years the 
gifted and beloved Professor of History in the State 
University. He died July, 19 10. 

The Conference for Education held its first meeting 
February 22, 1907. It is open to all men and women 
who are interested in the schools of Texas. This con- 
ference has done much to arouse public interest by keep- 
ing educational matters constantly before the people. 

An Educational Administration. — As seen from top- 
ics above, the four years, 1907-1911, mark an era in edu- 
cational progress. Much credit is due Hon. R. B. 
Cousins and Hon. F. M. Bralley, who, as State Super- 
intendents of Public Instruction, proved themselves wise 
leaders. 

Disasters. — In 1907 a disastrous fire occurred in 
"Houston, and a money panic prevailed throughout the 
country. Happily the panic soon passed. Floods de- 
stroyed ten million dollars worth of railroad property 
in and near Dallas (1908). A fire in Fort Worth in 
1909 made homeless five hundred families. The loss was 
about four million dollars. A severe storm visited Gal- 
veston in 1909, but the sea wall stood the test bravely 
and the city suffered no damage. 

San Jacinto Battle Field. — The thirtieth legislature 
in response to the request of the Daughters of the Re- 



ERA VI] THE STATE 281 

public, appropriated sufficient money to finish the pur- 
chase of the San Jacinto battle field and suitably to care 
for these historic grounds. 



COLQUITT'S ADMINISTRATION" 

[A. B. Davidson, Lieutenant-Governor , Thirty-second 
Legislature] 

(1911— ) 

The Campaign for Governor. — Four of the leading 
men in the state, Railroad Commissioner O. B. Colquitt 
of Terrell, Attorney-General R. Y . Davidson of Galves- 
ton, Hon. Cone Johnson of Tyler, and Hon. William 
Poindexter of Cleburne, announced in 19 10 for Governor. 
The campaign was full of interest and excitement. Mr. 
Colquitt was chosen by a primary vote in July, was nomi- 
nated in August by the Democratic convention, and was 
elected in November (1910). Tuesday, January 17, 191T, 
he was inaugurated with fitting ceremony the twenty- 
fifth Governor of Texas. 

Retirement of Senator Bailey. — On September 6, 
191 1, Senator Joseph W. Bailey announced that at the 
end of his term as United States senator he would re- 
tire from public life. 

Home for Confederate Women. — Texas established 
in Austin, October, 191 1, a comfortable retreat for the 
aged widows of Confederate veterans. The Daughters 
of the Confederacy of Texas presented to the state a 
house and grounds for this home. 

Home for Consumptives. — A retreat for consump- 
tives was opened by the state at Carlsbad in June, 1912. 



282 EDUCATIONAL LAWS [1912 

Penitentiary Reform. — Governor Colquitt aided the 
Penitentiary Commission in bringing about much needed 
reform. The system of leasing out convicts is gradually 
being abolished. After January i, 1914, no prisoner will 
be leased or worked on shares. Only the most hard- 
ened criminals are forced to wear stripes. The health 
conditions and modes of punishment are much improved. 
Schools are rapidly being established, not only in the 
prisons themselves, but on farms and at camps where 
convicts are worked. 

Disasters. — The State suffered heavy losses by fires 
at the Agricultural and Mechanical College during 191 1 
and 1912; by a freeze that ruined the Penitentiary cane 
crop, and by a fire that partially destroyed the Hunts- 
ville Penitentiary in 191 1. Houston was again visited 
by fire in February, 1912. An epidemic of meningitis in 
1912 would have proved most disastrous had it not been 
for the skilful management of the Board of Health. 

Prohibition Defeated. — The people had expressed a 
wish to vote again upon an amendment to the constitu- 
tion, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicat- 
ing liquors in Texas. As a consequence, Governor Col- 
quitt recommended, and the thirty-second legislature or- 
dered that the amendment be submitted July 22, 191 1. It 
was defeated by about 6,000 votes. Twenty-four years 
before prohibition had been lost by over 90,000 votes. 

Important School Laws. — No school laws in the his- 
tory of Texas are more far-reaching or more encourag- 
ing than those treated in the next two topics. Both were 
warmly recommended to the legislature by Governor 
Colquitt and State Superintendent Bralley. 

Rural High Schools. — A lack of country high schools 
has always been a serious drawback to the 750,000 chil- 
dren on Texas farms and ranches. Boys and girls finish- 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



283 




Governor Colquitt 



284 



SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS 



[1912 




ERA VI] THE STATE 285 

ing the primary and grammar grades are too young to 
be sent away to school, even if their parents have money 
to do this. The lack of high schools means therefore 
that thousands of young people stop their education w^ith 
the lower grades, when, with good rural high schools, 
they might be well fitted for practical life or prepared for 
college without leaving home. The legislature made it 
possible in 1910 for common school districts to unite and 
organize a high school. The state offers to aid each 
district so doing. 

Regents for State Normals. — Years ago, when the 
first State Normal was founded, its control was given 
to the Board of Education. This board was composed 
of the governor, the secretary and the comptroller. As, 
one by one, three other normals were added, the burden 
of control grew heavy. Each of the three state officials 
was too busy attending to his duties to have time or taste 
for such work. The board suffered and so did the Nor- 
mals. The thirty-second legislature created a Board of 
Regents for the Normal schools. The governor ap- 
points five men, and the state superintendent of educa- 
tion is the chairman of the board. Good results are 
already seen from this law. 

State's Best Record. — For 1911-1912 Texas paid 
from the Treasury $6.80 for the education of each child 
between the ages of seven and seventeen. This is the best 
record our state has made. 

Texas' Educational Rank. — In spite of the foregoing 
topics, we have no right to feel satisfied. Of the 991,000 
(May, 191 T, showed 991,409) children within school age 
at least 400,000 are not in school. Our average school 
term is only 13T days (1910). The average salary paid 
our Avhite teachers is only $409.82 per year (19T0V 
While these conditions exist Texas will continue to rank 



286 TEXAS VETERANS [1912 

far below the average state in education. These truths 
are hot pleasant, but the sooner we recognize the truth 
the sooner will we change conditions by levying more 
local taxes. 

Causeway at Galveston. — Not content with the sea 
wall and with raising the surface of the island after the 
storm of 1900, the people of Galveston county and the 
railroads determined to build a great causeway of earth, 
steel and concrete. This causeway was opened May, 
1912. It stretches two miles across Galveston Bay and 
connects with the mainland the "treasure island of the 
Gulf," thus removing all danger of Galveston being cut 
off by the washing away of the bridge over the Bay. 

Growth of State University. — Nothing speaks more 
strongly for the intellectual development of Texas than 
the growth of the State University. With a student body 
of more than three thousand and a most devoted alumni 
organization, the University has established cordial re- 
lations with every branch of our great public school sys- 
tem and becomes each year more popular with the people. 

Agricultural and Mechanical College. — With more 
than 1,100 students, with modern buildings to replace 
those burned in 1911-1912, and with an understanding 
of the needs of the people, the Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal College is doing the very work that Texas craves. 
Its popularity increases each year. 

Texas Veterans. — Many writers claim that with the 
advance of civilization there comes a decline of patriot- 
ism. If this be true, it "were a grievous fault," but let 
us not permit that it be true of Texas. There met for 
years, on April 21st, a body of aged men whose very 
presence among us serves to make the young heart burn 
with patriotic zeal. These were the Texas Veterans. The 
Tf^ilroads generously gave free transportation, and the 



ERA VI] THE STATE 287 

hostess city treated the Veterans as honored guests. 
Here the soldiers of San Jacinto Hved o'er their youthful 
days and brought to mind the glories of the past. The 
roll-call was most impressive, for each year, alas ! many 
cross to the Great Beyond, and when their names were 
called a moment of solemn silence followed, broken by 
some aged grandsire, who with trembling voice answered, 
"Dead." At the meeting in Austin, 1907, those present 
were so few in numbers and so feeble in health that they 
adjourned to meet no more. 

Conclusion. — When one looks backward over Texas 
history, he sees much for which we should be grateful 
to the Great Father above. Cities have sprung up on 
all sides. Our population is nearly four millions ; wealth 
has poured into our coffers ; railroads unite every por- 
tion of the state ; public education has made decided 
progress, but there still remains much in this line to be 
done. Let the boys and girls of this generation fit them- 
selves to take up the duties that must soon fall upon 
their shoulders ; let them learn to love their state wisely, 
not blindly ; seeing her needs and filling them ; let them 
resolve that education shall be as free as the sunlight 
that floods our Italian skies ; let these things be done, 
and the Muse of History shall call for a golden pen 
and she shall write still higher on the roll of fame that 
name we love so well — Texas ! 

SUMMARY 

The annexation of Texas and disputes over her southern 
boundary caused war between Mexico and the United States 
resulting in victory for the United States and in establishing 
the Rio Grande as the border line. A dispute as to the boun- 
dary between Texas and New Mexico was settled by the com- 
promise of 1850; underneath all these issues lay the great ques- 
tion of slavery. 



288 SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 

The years from 1853 to 1859 were marked by progress and 
prosperity ; railroads were encouraged, a permanent school fund 
was established, public buildings were erected and population 
increased. The negro uprising, the cart war and the expulsion of 
the Indians were the only disturbing features. 

In 1859 General Houston was elected Governor. When the 
southern states talked of secession Houston opposed it, but in 
January, 1861, Texas left the Union and joined the Confederacy. 
Governor Houston would not take the oath of allegiance and was 
deposed ; he died in 1863. The capture of Galveston from the 
Federals, the Battle of Sabine Pass, the heroism of Hood's 
Brigade and the Terry Rangers are important features of Texas' 
part in the Civil War. The war closed with the surrender of 
General Robert E, Lee, April 9, 1865, but May 13 at Palmito on 
the Rio Grande the last shot was fired. 

From 1865 to 1870 Texas, under military rule, passed through 
the trying days of reconstruction, but with the election of Gov- 
ernor Coke (1874) and the refusal of President Grant to inter- 
fere in Texas' affairs a happier era dawned. In 1876 a new 
constitution was adopted. In 1881 the old capitol burned; in 
1888 the magnificent new capitol was dedicated. In 1896 the 
Supreme Court decided that Greer County belonged to the United 
States. A terrific storm, September, 1900, left Galveston county 
and city with adjacent territory in ruins. Oil was discovered 
near Beaumont in 1901. This was an era of prosperity. 

HISTORICAL RECREATIONS 

When and why were the counties released from State taxes? 
How were the expenses of the State met during these years? 

What has Texas done to encourage the building of railroads? 

Name all the State asylums ; locate each. 

Who was twice president of the Republic, twice United States 
senator, and once governor? 

Who was Cortina? 

Tell the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. 

Why was Houston deposed? 

Why did Texas not suffer more during the Civil War? 

Who was President of the Confederacy? Is he living? Who 
was President of the United States in 1862? How did he meet 
his death? 



ERA VI] THE STATE 289 

What governor after being comptroller of the Republic, cut 
cord-wood rather than be idle? 

Name all the living governors of Texas. 

Give in your own words the story of Galveston's recapture. 

What garrison received a silver medal from President Davis? 

What great Texan is buried at Huntsville? Is there a monu- 
ment over his grave? 

Where was the last battle of the Civil War fought? 

What governor took refuge in Mexico? Why? 

What is meant by the "Period of Military Rule"? 

When did two men claim the governorship of Texas? How 
was the matter settled? What answer did President Grant make 
when appealed to for aid in 1874? 

Name the -governors who have been elected to the United 
States Senate. 

Who at the age of fourteen had memorized Pollock's "Course 
of Time" ? 

What eminent Texan was Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan? 

How many Normal Schools has Texas? Locate them. 

Who said, 'T will meet you in the halls of Congress"? 

Who was called the "young Demosthenes"? 

What is the Peabody Fund? How has it aided Texas? 

Where is the A. & M. College? The State University? The 
Medical Branch of the State University? 

Who were the Fence-cutters? 

Who was known as the Boy Captain ? 

Describe the new Capitol Building. Have you visited it? If 
so, mention some of the pictures you saw there. What did you 
admire most? What improvements would you like to see? 

What two native Texans have become governor? 

What is the Alien Land Law? 

What famous Texan represented his district in Congress for 
nineteen years? 

What governor was called the "Patron of Art"? 

Who is the present governor? Tell something of his life. 

Name the United States senators from Texas. 

Name the Chairman of the Railroad Commission. 

Name the Congressman from your district. 

Tell some patriotic deed that specially interested you in this 



290 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



era. Some deed of self-sacrifice. Some deed of great personal 
bravery. 

Name the judges of the Supreme Court. 

Who never held public office until he became governor? 

What are "The Austin Papers"? Who gave them to the 
University? 

Who won honors in oratory at the University of Virginia? 

Who owns the San Jacinto battle-field? 

What is the nepotism law? 

Who gave as a key to success: "Work hard and tell the truth"? 

Have you a first-class high school in your community? 

What law has increased the number of high schools? 

Who had as his aim to become a successful lawyer and to be 
true to his friends? 

What was "the great fine"? 

Tell about Galveston's sea wall and causeway. 

What does Texas need most to-day? 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



291 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS 



C I. War between Mexico and the United States. C i. Causes. 

J. Pinckney Henderson, Governor. J 2. Part Texas took. 

1846-1847. [ 3. Results. 

II. Boundary Question. 

George T. Wood, Governor. 

1847-1849. 
Peter Hansboro Bell, Governor. 

1849-1853. 

J. W. Henderson, Governor. 

1853. 



1. Boundary between 
Texas and New Mex- 
ico. 

2. Compromise of 1850. 



III. Development and Prosperity. 

E. M. Pease, Governor. 

1853-1857. 

Hardin P. Runnels, Governor. 

1857-1859. 



IV. Civil War. 

Sam Houston, Governor. 

1859-1861. 
Edward Clarke, Governor. 

1861. 

Frank Lubbock, Governor 

1861-1863. 

Pendleton Murrah, Governor. 

1863-1865. 



1. Public debts settled. 

2. Railroad laws. 

3. School funds. 

4. Indians driven out. 



1. Cortina. 

2. Condition of United 
States. 

3. Houston's position. 

4. Texas secedes. 

5. Houston removed. 

6. Preparations for war. 

7. Galveston blockaded. 
(1861). 

8. Sibley expedition. 

9. Galveston captured. 
(1862). 

10. Galveston retaken. 

11. Battle of Sabine Pass. 
(1863). 

12. Houston's death. 
(1863). 

13. General Banks. 

14. Texas' part in war. 

15. Texas' condition. 

16. Close of war. (1865). 

17. Last Shot. 

18. Governor Murrah in 
Mexico. 

19. General Granger i n 
command of Texas, 



292 



SUPPLEMENTAL WORK 



V. Military Rule and Reconstruction. 

A. J. Hamilton, Governor. 

1865-1866. 

James W. Throckmorton, Governor. 

1866-1867. 

E. M. Pease, Governor. 

1867-1869. 

E. J. Davis, Governor. 

1870— 1874. 



Coke's Administration. 

1874-1876. 



2. Hubbard's Administration. 
1876-18751. 



Roberts's Administrations. 
1879-1883. 



Ireland's Administrations. 
1883-1887. 



5. Ross's Administrations. 
1887-1891. 



6. Hogg's Administrations. 
1891-1895. 



1. Hamilton's advice. 

2. Reconstruction Conven- 
ton. 1866. 

3. President and C o n- 
gress. 

4. Throckmorton removed. 

5. Military rule. 

6. Hancock's course. 

7. Constitutional conven- 
tion. 1868. 

8. Pease resigns. 

9. Constitution adopted. 
1869. 

10. T e X a Si re-admitted. 
(1870). 

11. Disabilities removed. . 
12'. Stormy election scenes. 

, Difficulties. 

. How met. 
New constitution. 1876. 
Agricultural and Mechan- 
ical College. (1876). 
Penitentiary improved. 
Crime punished. 
Immigration to Texas. 



a. Governor's policy. 

b. Sam Houston Normal In- 
stitute. 1879. 

c. Prairie View Normal. 

d. Capitol burned. 1881. 



a. State University. 

b. Fence cutters. 

c. Greer County. 



f:: 



Prohibition campaign. 1887. 
Dedication of new Capitol, 



I l 



c. Money from United States. 

d. New institutions. 

f a. Galveston Harbor. 
h. Railroad commissioner. 

c. Alien land law. 

d. Confederate Home. 

e. Sugar bounty. 

f. Division in Democratic 
party. 

g. Coxey army. 

h. Financial troubles, 



ERA VI] 



THE STATE 



293 



7. Culberson's Admini 
1895-1899. 



Land leases. 

Anti-trust laws. 

Arbitration law. 

Special session of legislature 

to prevent prize-fight. 

Spanish-American war. 



Sayers's Administrations. 
1899-1903. 



f a. Brazos floods. (1899). 

b. Ruin of Austin dam. (1900). 

c. Galveston storm. (1900). 

d. Discovery of oil. (1901). 

e. Drought and boll-weevil. 



^ < ^i 



Lanham's Administrations. 
1903-1907. 



Campbell's Administrations. 
1907-1911. 



Colquitt's Administration. 
1911 — 



a. New institutions. 

b. Alamo property bought. 
(1905). 

c. Railroad growth. 

d. Terrell election law. 

e. Irrigation districts. 

f. School age extended. 



( a. Labor Laws. 

b. Tax Laws. 
I c. Department of Agriculture. 
I d. Guaranty Law. 
I e. Waters Pierce fine. 
I f. I'enitentiary reform. 

g. School laws. 

h. San Jacinto Battle Field 
bought. 



^ a. Retirement of Senator 
I Bailey. 

I b. Penitentiary reform. 

■{ c. Prohibition defeated. (191 1). 

I d. Important school laws. 

I e. Opening of Galveston 
(^ Causeway. 



NOTES 

ERA I 

I. La Salle was born at Rouen, France, November, 1643. 
It is said he took the first steps towards becoming a Jesuit 
priest, but his was to be no priest's Hfe, for there soon came 
to the lad longings for a calling where he might command 
and others obey. His older brother, the priest Abbe Jean 
Cavelier, lived in Canada ; this fact influenced Robert when 23 
to sail to the New »/orld. He obtained a grant of land and 
won the friendship of the French Governor. On returning to 
France he was made a noble and given more power in Canada. 
He turned his back on the certain wealth that awaited him in 
the fur trade to devote himself to exploring the Mississippi. 
He had built above Niagara Falls a boat called " The Griffin," 
which he sailed over the virgin waters of Lakes Erie, St. Clair, 
Huron and Michigan, to the amazement of the red men, who 
had never before seen a sail vessel. " The Griffin " was loaded 
with furs and sent back to Niagara ; La Salle ordered the pilot 
as soon as the furs were disposed of to return with supplies to 
the head of Lake Michigan. La Salle himself pushed on, ex- 
plored the Illinois river and founded Fort Creve Coeur (krev 
ker'). Here he learned that "The Griffin" was lost. This ca- 
lamity forced him, leaving his faithful friend Tonty in com- 
mand, to return to Canada for supplies. 

It is claimed that no other Frenchman ever made so difficult 
a journey in America. He conquered all obstacles and was 
ready to start back, when there came the tragic news that his 
men had deserted Tonty and destroyed all property of value 
at Fort Creve Coeur. Undismayed, La Salle journeyed to the 
Illinois only to find Tonty gone and the fort in ruins ; still he 
pressed on and at last came into the Mississippi, that " fatal 
river" of his dreams. Returning towards Montreal, he had the 
joy of meeting Tonty, whom he had feared to be dead: soon 
after came the third setting out for the great journey; the 

294 



ERA I] NOTES 295 

mouth of the Mississippi was reached and La Salle thought his 
most difficult task was accomplished. 

We can but admire and pity La Salle. He was brave, pa- 
tient and undiscouraged. While he exercised a marvelous 
influence over the Indians, yet he sadly lacked ability to win 
the affection and loyalty of his own people. A few loved him, 
but the great najority thought him cold, haughty, visionary, and 
some called him mad. He was so harassed by enemies that we 
cannot wonder he lost faith in his race. 'He consulted nobody, 
confided in nobody, he relied upon himself alone. The man 
who does this is seldom able to carry out great undertakings. 
Let us never forget that in the midst of bitter persecutions, his 
honor stands forth untouched. (The older student will find 
Parkman's " La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West '* 
most fascinating.) 

2. La Salle an Explorer. — The word discoveries was prob- 
ably used by La Salle, but we now know that while he ex- 
plored much he really discovered little. 

3. Spain Careless. — La Salle seemed to realize clearly the 
advantage of a French colony at this exact location. While 
Spain had explored the Gulf coast with some thoroughness, 
yet she had been most careless in founding colonies to hold 
her discoveries and explorations. At this time she had outside 
of Mexico only one real settement in the South, San Augustine. 
The student will readily understand the wisdom of La Salle's 
proposed plan. 

4. La Salle's farewell letter to his mother has been care- 
fully kept by his family. The following is an extract: 

" RocHELLE, 18 July, 1684. 
"Madame my Most Honored Mother, — 

" At last, after having waited a long* time for a favorable 
wind and having had a great many difficulties to overcome, 
we are setting sail. . . . We all have good hope of a 
happy success. We are not going by way of Canada, but 
by the Gulf of Mexico. I passionately wish, and so do we all, 
that the success of this voyage may contribute to your rtiose 
and comfort. Assuredly, I shall spare no effort that it may ; 
and I beg you, on your part, to preserve yourself for the 
love of us. 



296 NOTES ' [ERA I 

" Vou need not be troubled by the news from Canada, 
which are nothing but the continuation of the artifices of 
my enemies. I hope to be as successful against them as I 
have been thus far, and to embrace you a year hence with 
all the pleasure that the most grateful of children can feel 
with so good a mother as you have always been. Pray let 
this hope, which shall not disappoint you, support you through 
whatever trials may happen, and be sure' that you will always 
find me with a heart full of the feelings which are due to you. 
Madame, my Most Honored Mother, from your most humble 
and most obedient servant and son, " De La Salle. 

" My brothers, my nephews, and all the others, greet you, 
and take their leave of you." 

5. The vessels were called "The Joly," "The Aimable," 
" The Belle," and " The Saint Frangois." 

6. La Salle's Men.— Bancroft says: "One hundred men, 
the scum of the French towns, were recruited as soldiers ; 
thirty were volunteers, for the most part gentlemen by birth; 
there were also artisans, laborers, servants, many families of 
colonists, a number of girls seeking husbands, four Franciscans 
and three priests, one of whom was La Salle's brother." 
Joutel writes : " The difficulty was our great number of men, 
and the few of them who were fit for anything except eating. 
They had all been caught by force or surprise, so that our 
company was like Noah's ark, which contained animals of 
all sorts." 

7. The Saint Frangois. — This boat, "St. Frangois," was 
laden with provisions, tools, and other necessaries for the 
colony; and the loss was irreparable." Parkman. 

8. Joutel was for sixteen years a French soldier. His ac- 
count of La Salle's expedition is most valuable. After many 
hair-breadth escapes, he reached France once more in 1688. 

9. The letters of Beaujeu and La Salle found in Margry 
Vol. n. show that the two men parted friends. Beaujeu ex- 
pected to go to Mobile Bay for wood and water, and to wait 
there to hear further from La Salle, but head winds, murmurs 
of his crew, a fight with pirates and other mishaps caused 
him to change his plans and go to France. 



ERA I] NOTES 297 

10. Tonty, who had been for years an officer in the service 
of Italy, lost a hand in one of his numerous battles. He had 
an artificial hand of iron or some other metal on which he 
always wore a glove. When the Indians were rude or of- 
fensive, he once or twice used the " Iron Hand " with such 
effect as to leave broken heads and scattered teeth. The 
savages thought he did this by magic and had great respect 
for his power. 

11. Site of La Salle*s Murder. — The exact spot where La 
Salle was killed is not known. Some authorities place it on 
the Neches River: others claim that the murder took place 
near the Brazos. In La Salle's native city, Rouen, a stately 
monument has been raised in his honor. La Salle never 
married ; his title passed on to his relatives, who for gen- 
erations have held his name in highest esteem. 

12. The oldest town in Texas is Ysleta (es-la'ta) founded 
in 1682 twelve miles from El Paso. Dr. Bolton, in his research 
work in Mexico, found the origmal list of ninety-odd Spanish 
families that settled this village. 

13. Mexico. — The student must understand that at this 
time, 1687, Mexico was a Spanish province with a regular 
system of government. 

14. Cabeza de Vaca was a member of Narvaez's expedition 
sent out to conquer Florida. In 1528 the party was cast in 
a storm upon the western shore of the Gulf of Mexico, on an 
island situated probably on thje Texas coast. Most of the 
men perished,' but Cabeza and three others lived about seven 
years among the Indians, part of which time they were in 
slavery, and riiially made their way to Spanish settlements in 
Mexico. Dr. Garrison* says : " They were apparently the first 
Europeans to tread the soil of Texas." On his return to 
Europe, Cabeza wrote an account of Narvaez's expedition. 
Judge Raines in his bibliography writes : " Cabega, besides 
being the first European explorer of Texas, the first overland 
traveler across the continent, was also the first historian of 
Texas." The mature student should read " Journey of Cabeza 
de Vaca," translated by Bandelier. 

15. Father Massanet, a devoted priest, went out with De 
Leon*s expedition to take charge of the mission work. Read 



298 NOTES [ERA I 

his letters in the "Texas Quarterly," II., Page 281, translated 
by Prof. Lilia M. Casis. 

16. Texas. — The word Texas is used here only for the con- 
venience of the pupil, since at this date there was no territory 
bearing that name. Historians differ as to the origin of the 
name. Recent investigations of original documents tend to 
prove that the Tejas Indians, not a single tribe, but a group 
of nearly fifty tribes, had a considerable degree of civilization. 
De Leon's company, in 1690, found few Indians between the 
Rio Grande and the land of the Tejas. They had observed 
no natural features striking enough to give a name to the 
country. " After the expedition of 1689 there was but one 
people in the country it penetrated of whom the Spaniards in 
Mexico thought seriously, and that was the Tejas Indians; 
but one district there, besides Espiritu Santo, of which they 
talked, and that was the country of the same Indians, which 
they called Texas. It was but natural that this name should 
be extended to the whole region. Nuevas Filipinas, which 
was for some time the official designation, was not sufficiently 
upon the popular tongue and was displaced entirely by Texas." 
(Abridged from Dr. George P. Garrison's "Texas," page 32). 

17. First Mission. — The exact location of this mission, the 
first in Texas, is not known. Dr. Herbert Bolton thinks it 
was at the Nabedache village near San Pedro Creek in Hous- 
ton County. Another mission was founded near by at the 
same time. 

18. Louisiana at that time was a vague term* meaning the 
vast area drained by the Mississippi. 

19. Charles 11. — The older student may know that Charles 
II. of Spain left by will to a grandson of Louis XIV. his 
entire Spanish kingdom. In the war of the Spanish Succes- 
sion, the American aspect of which was called Queen Anne's 
War, Spain and Erance were together and their American 
colonies seemed friendly. 

20. The Asinais or Cenis belonged to the Texas group of 
Indians. 

21. Saint-Denis made good use of his time by making love 
to the pretty grand-daughter of Captain Diego Ramon, who 
afterwards became his wife. 



ERA I] NOTES 299 

22. Spanish Missions near Nacogdoches. — These were: 
Nuestra Senora de la Guadalupe (near modern Nacogdoches), 
La Purisima Concepcion, San Joseph, San Miguel de Linares, 
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores. Dr. Garrison states the four 
last named were situated in an irregular group around Nacog- 
doches "at distances varying from twenty-five to fifty miles." 

23. The After Career of Saint-Denis is a checkered one. 
Returning to Louisiana, he got on consignment a new stock 
of goods, went back to Mexico claiming the goods as his 
own, was stripped of the merchandise, and imprisoned, but 
was freed by a special order. Commanded to go with his 
wife to Guatemala, he escaped to Louisiana and was given 
command at Natchitoches (nack-i-tosh'). Dr. Garrison says: 
" It is is probable that if the government of either France or 
Spain had really understood what he was about, he would have 
been rewarded with a halter." 

24. References. — Teachers and mature students will enjoy 
for reference reading: Dr. Garrison's "Texas"; Bonilla's 
Brief Compendium translated by Miss Elizabeth West, Texas 
Quarterly, July 1904; Penicaut's story, translated from Margry, 
Historical Collection of Louisiana and Florida (New Series, 
1859, pp. 1 14-120). 

25. Bienville, the noble Governor of Louisiana, was bitterly 
opposed to allowing the Spanish to do this, but Saint-Denis 
and others by secret plots carried the day. 

26. The Native Names of some of these tribes were Nabe- 
dache, Nacogdoche, Neche, Hainai, Nasoni, Nadaco, Nacono, 
Nacachau, Nacao, Nechaui. 

27. Chief Tribes. — Among these were the Taovayas and 
Wichita on the upper Red and Wichita rivers, and Towakana, 
Waco, and Yscanis, on the upper Brazos and Trinity rivers. 

28. East of the Brazos and the Trinity were the Orco- 
quiza and Attakapa. Between the Brazos and the Nueces 
were Karankawan tribes called Coco, Karankawa, Guapite, 
Cujane, and Copane. The Karankawa were very warlike, and 
like the Attakapa and Tonkawa, were often said to be canni- 
bals. Further down the coast toward the Rio Grande were 
numerous Pakawan or Coahuiltecan tribes, such as the Manos 
de Perro ("Dog Hands") and Borrados. 



300 NOTES [ERA I 

29. Migration. — During most of the l8th century the Co- 
manche, the Tonkawan tribes, all of the Timber Tribes and 
the Pakawa of the Southwest, were hostile to the Apache. 
On the other hand, many of the northern tribes of Texas 
were at war with Indians farther to the north. The Apache 
and the Tonkawan tribes were pushed southward and new 
tribes entered the state. Kiowa, Coshattie, Cherokee, Shawnee, 
Alabama, and Choctaw are names of tribes not known in Texas 
at all till long after the country had been the home of the white 
man. The Pueblo Indians at Ysleta, near El Paso, are not 
natives of Texas, but refugees from New Mexico. 

30. Mission, Presidio, Villa. — The older student will see 
how easily confusion as to location might arise from the fact 
that mission, presidio, and villa have different names, though 
very close together. For example there was the presidio of 
San Antonio de Bexar, the mission of San Antonio de Valero 
(together with a group of four other missions) near by, and 
the villa of 'San Fernando. 

31. Soldiers in the Missions. — Sometimes it became neces- 
sary to have the soldiers in the missions, but the priests did 
not like this plan, as the soldiers by their cruelty and wicked- 
ness made it much more difficult to convert the Indians. 

32. Stone Fort. — An exception to this is the Stone Fort at 
Nacogdoches, built about i779 and torn down in 1902. 

SS. For a fuller account of mission San Antonio de Valero 
see Bolton and Barker's " With the Makers of Texas," page 
61, from which this account is condensed. 

34. The following interesting extract from a report made by 
the missionaries in 1762 is taken from Dr. Garrison's " Texas," 
page 57- 

" Every day all the Indians recite in concert the text of the 
Christian doctrine of Ripalda, in the morning before work and 
in the evening after it. Three or four times a week the 
ministers instruct their Indians, with reference to the same 
text of the catechism, in the mysteries of our holy faith and 
the obligations of Christians. 

" To the dying and the sick is promptly ministered holy bap- 
tism, if they are infidels, and to the Christians are admin- 
istered the holy sacraments. 



ERA I] NOTES 30^ 

" For those who come from the woods married, the natural 
contract is ratified (leaving- only one wife to those who bring 
several) before their baptism, and the Christians are married 
at the proper time by the church officials. 

" The missionaries have paid special attention to the temporal 
assistance of the Indians, both because this is their personal 
business, and because it is one of the most important means 
of subsistence for those who live at the missions, and for 
the attraction of those who inhabit the woods, who observe 
and consider the advantages the others enjoy. 

" For this purpose are used the cattle which the missionaries 
manage to acquire in order to kill, at each mission every Sun- 
day and on some special feast days, four or five head, ac- 
cording to the number of people — dividing them into pieces 
in order that each individual may have his corresponding" 
ration ; and mutton is given to those who are sick. 

" The corn crop is consumed by giving the Indians what they 
need for all purposes ; and they are also furnished beans, 
pumpkins, watermelons, melons, pepper, salt, and sugar, which 
is made from cane they take care to plant at each mission 
annually, because this is the best thing to regale the Indians 
and the most pleasing to their appetites. In the missions 
cotton and wool are used by making them into mantas, ter- 
lingas, rebozos, coarse cloths, and blankets for their protection 
and covering. 

" The Indians are assisted, when they are sick, with medi- 
cines which this country furnishes, and some which are brought 
in for the purpose. They are visited by the fathers and by 
other persons who have been charged with the care' of them; 
and in serious cases they are fed from the kitchen of the 
fathers, and in all they are relieved from work. For this 
reason not a few of them get to making pretenses, and the 
missionaries in order to keep them from running away, be- 
have as if they were deceived by them. 

" The labor of the Indians is to plant the fields, look after 
the cattle, to water the crops, to clear away weeds, and to 
gather their grain, to erect their dwellings, and other build- 
ings of the missions to which the community attends ; but with 
such slowness and carelessness that it is always necessary for 
some Spaniard to be directing them, and four of them are 



302 NOTES [ERA II 

not sufficient for what could be done "by one. They work, 
with a lack of energy corresponding to their inborn laziness, 
some at weaving and in the forges, and others as carpenters 
and bricklayers, in which trades instruction has been furnished 
them by the missionaries with no small endeavor for their 
comfort. They have been provided also with the proper tools 
for all these occupations. 

" The employment of the women and children is to spin 
with rough spindles, and to comb cotton." 

35. Moving a Mission. — By this term is meant the transfer 
of the priests, movable property and the Indians, who had 
become attached to the missions. 

36. Name Alamc^ — Dr. Bugbee says the name Alamo orig- 
inated from the fact that the mission was occupied by a com- 
pany of Mexican troops called the Alamo of Parras. The new 
name seemed to please the popular ear better than " San 
Antonio de Valero/' hence the whole mission was called Alamo. 

Zy. See William Corner's " San Antonio de Bexar." 

38. The mission of La Purisima Concepcion de Acuila was 

the transferred mission of La Purisima Concepcion de los 

Asinais of East Texas. 

ERA II 

1. Filibusters. — Webster's dictionary defines "filibuster" 
as a lawless military adventurer, but in Texas history the 
word means adventurers of all kinds, who entered Texas with 
the purpose of taking possession of the country. 

2. El grito de Dolores, raised at two o'clock on the morn- 
ing of Sept. 16, 1810, is considered by the Mexicans as the 
real birth of Mexican independence. A grito is the first step in 
an insurrection. See Note 5, p. 311. 

3. Aaron Burr. — The teacher is earnestly requested to tell 
the class the story of the life of Aaron Burr, making clear 
as much as is known of the real objects of his expedition. See 
McCaleb's " The Aaron Burr Conspiracy." 

4. Philip Nolan, an Irishman by birth, but at this time an 
American citizen, was a gentleman and a scholar, being 
specially well informed in geography and astronomy. As early 



ERA II] NOTES 303 

as 1785 he was engaged in trade (though the Spanish laws 
forbade such trade) between San Antonio and Natchez, Miss., 
but as this business did not bring him wealth rapidly enough, 
he decided to seek other fields. The Spanish officers declared 
that from papers in their possession it was clear that Nolan 
expected to raise a revolution and make himself ruler of Texas. 

5. Nolan's Map. — This map, which is said to be the first 
made of Texas by an Anglo-Saxon, was given by Nolan to 
Baron de Carondelet, Governor of Louisiana. 

6. Spanish Orders. — For the purpose of frightening away 
the fortune-seekers from the North, the Spanish officials 
ordered that every American whose conduct was in the least 
suspicious should be arrested, and that as Nolan was a dan- 
gerous character, he should be "put out of the way" as quickly 
as possible. 

7. Lieut. Musquiz in his journal says: "Nolan's negroes 
asked permission to bury their master's body, which I granted 
after causing his ears to be cut off in order to send them to 
the Governor of Texas." 

8. Peter Ellis Bean. — This name is generally given as 
Ellis P. Bean, but in the State Library is a letter from Bean's 
son written to the historian Yoakum, asking that the name be 
given correctly, Peter Ellis Bean. 

9. Other Prisoners. — What became of the other prisoners 
is not positively known; for Bean's many adventures, see page 
55. 

10. Napoleon and Spain. — When, in exchange for Tuscany, 
Spain ceded Louisiana to France it was privately agreed that 
France should not sell the territory to the United States. After 
the deed was done Spain stood too much in fear of Napoleon 
to maintain a vigorous protest. 

11. The Arroyo Hondo, a small tributary of Red River, is 
about seven miles west of Natchitoches. 

12. Neutral Ground, — This contract, about which a certain 
amount of mystery has always hung, was entered into sud- 
denly by Generals Wilkinson and Herrera. It was an agree- 
ment between men and not between nations. It is supposed 
the Spaniards were so alarmed at Aaron Burr's schemes for in- 



304 NOTES [ERA II 

vading Mexico that they deemed it best to make concessions in 
order to keep at peace with the United States. 

13. Magee himself strongly urged the placing of Gutierres 
in command. This was done- to draw into the expedition the 
Mexican Republicans (those who favored Mexico freeing her- 
self from Spain), Among these men, Gutierres, who had al- 
ready suffered much for the cause of Mexican liberty, pos- 
sessed much influence, while Magee was comparatively unknown. 

14. Skirmish of White Cow. — One of the most spirited en- 
gagements during the siege bears the prosaic name of " The 
Battle of the White Cow." Salcedo's men were driving up 
a white cow, when she suddenly ran across the river toward 
the fort ; a party of Americans rushed out to drive her within 
the walls ; the opposing forces met and a fierce skirmish fol- 
lowed in which the Spaniards were worsted. 

15. Story about Magee. — Captain McKim, a Texas veteran, 
who was a member of Magee's expedition, left in manuscript 
a strange story of Magee's last days. Yoakum, the historian, 
accepts the statements of McKim. The story runs that during 
a few days of truce General Salcedo invited Magee to dine 
with him. At this interview, Magee agreed to surrender the 
fort to Salcedo, with the understanding that all the Repub- 
lican army should be sent home in perfect safety. On his 
return Magee had all the troops paraded, told them what he 
had done, and asked all who approved his course to shoulder 
arms. As the soldiers listened, expressions of amazement 
crept into their faces — that he, their brave, daring young 
leader, should advise such a step ! Few obeyed the order to 
" shoulder arms." Many, to show their displeasure, struck 
their guns heavily upon the ground. Magee stood a few 
moments in silence, then turned, and w^ith downcast head 
entered his tent. Soon a messenger bearing a flag of truce 
came, bringing a note from Salcedo asking why the fort was 
not surrendered, as had been promised. No reply was sent. 
Salcedo then made a furious attack upon the fort. Though 
the Americans were confused and distressed by Magee's course 
yet they rallied and drove back the Spaniards in confusion. 
During this time Magee remained in his tent. That night at 
twelve he died — some say by his own hand. Baker (see Baker's 
Texas History, page 227) says he learned directly from Col. Hall, 



ERA II] NOTES 305 

a personal acquaintance of Magee, that Capt. McKim was 
mistaken, and that Magee died of consumption. The distin- 
guished veteran and statesman, Hon. Guy M. Bryan, stated 
in conversation his acceptance of Col. Hall's version. 

i6. The exact location and the reason for the name of this 
battle are not known. 

17. Indian Reward. — It is said that the Indians asked as 
their chief reward two dollars' worth of vermilion for each 
brave. 

18. Gutierres. — The excuse given by Gutierres for the mur- 
der was that Captain Delgado had on bended knees begged 
that he might thus avenge the murder of his father, who had 
met death through Salcedo. 

19. Don Jose Alvarez Toledo, descended from a distin- 
guished Spanish family, was by birth a West Indian. Coming 
to Mexico, he showed his Republican sympathies too plainly, 
and was banished. During Magee's expedition he busied him- 
self in Louisiana collecting and forwarding troops to assist 
in freeing Texas. In July, 1813, he went to San Antonio, 
where he received a hearty welcome from all except the 
Mexicans under Menchaca. 

20. At the Medina. — In justice to Toledo, it must be stated 
that he was opposed to crossing the Medina, wishing to await 
on the left bank the atttack of the enemy. The Americans and 
Mexicans, made reckless by their recent victories, demanded 
that they be led to battle, and, against his better judgment,' 
Toledo yielded. 

21. Revenge. — Seventy or eighty prisoners were capturerd 
near Spanish Bluff. These were taken, securely tied, and 
placed in groups of ten upon huge pieces of timber beneath 
which a grave had been dug. The captives were then shot, 
their bodies falling into the yawning pit. Delgado was one 
of the victims. 

22. Toledo, though badly wounded, escaped to the United 
States, where he continued to assist the cause of Texas in- 
dependence. But at last, disappointed in all his plans, he sub- 
mitted to the Spanish King and was made ambassador to the 
court of Naples. He always cherished the greatest admiration 
for American bravery, declaring on more than one occasion, 



306 NOTES [ERA II 

" With two thousand such heroes as the Americans who fought 
the battle of the Medina I could conquer all Mexico." 

23. Arredondo and Elizondo. — Yoakum says : " Arredondo 
imprisoned 500 of the wives, daughters, and other female rel- 
atives of the patriots in San Antonio ; they were compelled 
daily to convert 24 bushels of Indian corn into Mexican cakes, 
called tortillas, for Arredondo's army. Elizondo, who had gone 
as far as the Trinity in pursuit of fugitives, returned driving be- 
fore him on foot the widows and orphans of those he had 
slain there. The property of the patriots was confiscated." 
The cruelty of Elizondo brought its own punishment. One of 
his lieutenants, becoming crazed from the horror of the bloody 
deeds daily committed, became convinced that he too was 
to be killed by the General ; in a moment of wild insanity he 
mortally wounded Elizondo, who was buried on the banks of 
the beautiful San Marcos. 

24. Black Hole. — Nearly as horrible as the tragedy of the 
Black Hole of Calcutta is this story of Arredondo's cruelty: 
On a stifling August night 300 citizens of San Antonio were 
imprisoned within one apartment ; so foul did the atmosphere 
become that 18 of the men died from suffocation before morn- 
ing. The survivors were shot without the semblance of a trial. 

25. Napoleon had fallen at Waterloo, and the ancient race 
of kings had been restored to the Spanish throne, but thought- 
ful men saw that these kings were no longer considered even 
by the mass of the common people as the " Chosen of God." 
Never again could monarchs expect ignorant idolatry from 
their subjects. The student of history saw clearly that for 
Mexico to become a republic was only a question of time. 

26. Aury and Mina, brave warriors devoted to freedom, 
and Perry, who so narrowly escaped death at the Medina, were 
among Herrera's most prominent officers. 

27. Naming Galveston. — The island was so called from 
Count de Galvez, viceroy of Mexico and governor of Texas 
and Louisiana. 

28. Lafitte. — Yoakum says Lafitte fell in love with a beau- 
tiful woman, became jealous of all about her, challenged and 
killed his rival, and hence was forced to take refuge in the 



ERA II] NOTES 307 

South. Bancroft relates that a naval officer who visited 
Laiitte heard from the pirate's own lips this story of his life : 
Eighteen years before he had been a merchant at Santo 
Domingo, and having become rich, he wound up his affairs, 
sold his property, bought a ship, • and freighted her with a 
valuable cargo, including a large amount of specie. Having 
set sail for Europe with his wife on board, he was captured, 
when a week at sea, by a Spanish man-of-war, and robbed 
of everything he possessed. The Spanish captain had the in- 
humanity to set him and his crew ashore on a barren sand- 
key, with provisions for a few days. They were taken off by 
an American schooner and landed at New Orleans, where his 
wife died in a few days from fever, contracted from hard- 
ship and exposure. Lafitte, in desperation, joined some dar- 
ing fellows, and having purchased a schooner, declared eternal 
vengeance against Spain." " For fifteen years," he said, "I have 
carried on war against Spain. So long as I live I am at war 
with Spain, but no other nation. I am at peace with all the 
world except Spain. Although they call me a pirate, I am 
not guilty of attacking any vessel of the English or French." 
29. Letter from Lafitte to Mr. Blanque. — 

Barataria, September 14, 1814. 
Sir: — Though proscribed by my adopted country, I will never 
let slip any opportunity of serving her, or of proving that she 
has never ceased to be dear to me. Of this you will here see 
a convincing proof. Yesterday there appeared here under a 
flag of truce, a boat coming from an English brig at anchor 
about two leagues from the pass. A British officer of high 
rank delivered to me the following papers : two directed to 
me, a proclamation, and the admiral's instruction to that of- 
ficer, all herewith inclosed. You will see from their contents 
the advantage I might have derived from that kind of as- 
sociation. I may have evaded the payment of duties to the 
custom-house, but I have never ceased to be a good citizen ; 
and all -the offenses I have committed, I was forced to by 
certain vices in our laws. In short. Sir, I make you the 
depository of the secret on which perhaps depends the tran- 
quillity of our country. Please to make such use of it as 



3o8 NOTES [ERA II 

your judgment may direct. I might expatiate on this proof, 
but I let the fact speak for itself. Be so kind as to assist 
me with your judicious counsel in so weighty an affair. 
I have the honor to salute you. 

J. Lafitte, 

30. S^ ils. — Mrs. Davis in "Under Six Flags" writes: 
" On the incoming Spanish barques there were bales of silk 
and satins, woven for the dark-eyed dames of Mexico, and 
soft carpets and priceless hangings for their houses ; there 
were rare wines for the tables of the viceroys, and gold- 
embroidered altar-cloths for the churches. On the outgoing 
Mexican vessels there were bars of silver and ingots of gold, 
tropical spices and dyes, uncut jewels and beautiful skins of 
wild animals. All these treasures were unrolled and spread 
out out on the open square of the fort, and each man was 
allotted his share. Lafitte was generous with the goods brought 
in by his freebooters. Once from a rich " haul " he took for 
his share only a slim gold chain and seal, which had been 
removed from the neck of a portly Mexican bishop on his 
way to visit Rome. This chain and seal were given by the 
pirate to Rezin Bowie, a brother of James Bowie. It remains 
in the Bowie family to this day." 

31. Lafitte died some years later in Yucatan. It is said 
that he buried immense treasures on Galveston Island. Many 
have sought, but none have found them. 

32. Dr. Long had already distinguished himself for skill 
and courage at the battle of New Orleans where he became 
a marked favorite with General Jackson. Upon marrying Miss 
Jane Wilkinson, a niece of General Wilkinson, Long settled 
at Natchez. 

SS. French Colony. — This was the second expedition that 
had appealed to Lafitte for aid. Generals Lallemand (lall-e- 
mand') and Rigault (re-go), two distinguished Frenchmen, 
brought 120 colonists and, with no authority from the Spanish 
government settled on the Trinity River. Lafitte helped them 
to locate and later when the colony, fearing an attack from 
the Spaniards, fled to Galveston, his kindness and generosity 
saved them from destruction. 



ERA III] NOTES 309 

34. Long's Death. — Some of Long's friends believed that 
Trespalacios, jealous of Long's popularity, hired a soldier to 
murder him. Several historians discredit this story, and say 
that Long, on one occasion, demanded entrance into the bar- 
racks ; the guard refused to admit him ; Long struck the 
sentinel, who at once shot him. See end of this era for story 
of Mrs. Long's courage and devotion. 

ERA III 

1. Moses Austin was born in Connecticut. In partnership 
with his brother Stephen he carried on business in Philadelphia 
and Richmond, but at a later date the brothers bought mines in 
Virginia (Wythe Co.) and established large factories for the 
making of shot and sheet lead. They were unfortunate and lost 
much. In 1798 Austin obtained a grant of a league of land in 
what is now Missouri (then belonging, as a part of Louisiana, 
to Spain), and with his family went to make another fortune in 
the West. For twenty-one years he lived there, loved and re- 
spected by all. In 1818 the Bank of St. Louis failed; Austin, 
being a stockholder, gave up everything, he possessed to the cred- 
itors of the bank. Thus, when past fifty, he found himself a poor 
man, compelled to begin life anew. Then it was that he re- 
solved to go to Texas. As the United States no longer claimed 
Texas, Spain felt safe in allowing Americans more freedom to 
settle within her territory. Spanish land grants were offered on 
safe terms. Austin, knowing all this, thought that the hour had 
come for Americans to colonize. 

2. Baron de Bastrop, a Prussian by birth, served in his 
youth under Frederick the Great. Entering the employ of the 
King of Spain, he was sent on an important mission to Mexico 
and became deeply interested in the country. He obtained as 
a grant a tract of land (between the Mississippi and Red Rivers) 
thirty miles square, of which he ceded 400,000 acres to Aaron 
Burr. Years later, when Louisiana again became the property 
of France, the Baron moved to San Antonio, where at the time 
of Austin's visit he held the position of Alcalde. 

3. The "Father of Texas" — for so Stephen F. Austin was 
affectionately called among the colonists — was born in Virginia, 
November 3, 1793. He was educated in Connecticut, and at 



310 NOTES [ERA III 

Transylvania University, Ky. When only twenty years old, he 
was elected a member of the Missouri Territorial Legislature. 
In 1819 he went to Arkansas, where he held the position of fed- 
eral circuit judge. His after life is so closely connected with 
Texas history that it needs no separate recital. 

4. Mexican Independence. — " At daylight of Sunday, 12th 
of August, while the company were in camp, on a creek called 
the Paradon, about eight miles from San Antonio, three men, 
who had been sent from the Guadalupe River to San Antonio, 
returned with others and brought the glorious news of the in- 
dependence of Mexico, The Spaniards hailed this information 
with shouts and acclamations of " Viva independencia ! " and 
every other demonstration of joy. (Scarff's Comprehensive His- 
tory of Texas. Texas Historical Quarterly, Vol. VII., p. 286). 

5. Land Given Colonists. — When the colonists arrived they 
were given more land than was promised. The head of the fam- 
ily received 4,605 acres ; a single man, one fourth as much. 

6. Austin Loses Much. — In spite of promises thus made, 
the colonists complained so bitterly of this agreement, that the 
Mexican authorities at San Antonio excused them from its pay- 
ment Each settler was then made to pay a fixed sum for his 
title, to the government ; part of this was finally given to Austin, 
but he really lost much that should have been his. 

7. Oath. — The following is an extract from the oath colo- 
nists were compelled to take : " In the town of Nacogdoches be- 
fore me, Don Jose Maria Guidiana, came Don Samuel Daven- 
port and Don William Barr, residing in this place, and took a 
solemn oath of fidelity to our soverign, and to reside per- 
manently in his royal dominions ; and more fully to manifest it, 
put their right hands upon the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
to be faithful vassals of his most catholic majesty, to act in obe- 
dience to all laws of Spain and the Indies, heficeforth adjuring 
all other allegiance to any other prince or potentate whatever, 
and to hold no correspondence with any other foreign power 
without permission from a lawful magistrate and to inform 
against such as may do so, or use seditious language unbecom- 
ing a good subject of Spain. 

" Signed : Jose Maria Guadiana, 
William Barr, 
Samuel Davenport.'* 



ERA III] NOTES 31I 

8. Authorities. — Prof. Lester G. Bugbee, Texas Historical 
Quarterly, Vol. VIIL, p. 141. See also " Adventures of the 
" Lively " Immigrants. Texas Historical Quarterly, Vol. III. 

9. Hardships. — The following from Mrs. Holly will give 
some idea of the hardships borne by the early Texas pioneers : 
" They were compelled to obtain their corn overland, and with 
much trouble, from Sabine or Bexar. For months they were 
totally destitute of bread. Sugar and coffee were luxuries en- 
joyed only in remembrance or anticipation. Their only depen- 
dence *for meat was upon wild game. To range the country for 
buffaloes was dangerous on account of the Indians. The mus- 
tangs, or wild horses, fortunately, were abundant and fat, and it 
is estimated that over one hundred of them were eaten during the 
first two years of the colony." 

10. Different Forms of Government. — The thoughtful 
student will better understand Austin's troubles when he learns 
that from 1821 to 1824 Mexico had four different kinds of govern- 
ment. In August, 1821, she became independent of Spain, but 
was still a monarchy : the throne was to be offered first to 
King Fernando VII., then to his brother Charles, next to his 
brother Francisco: if all these refused, Carlos Luis, a Spanish 
prince was to be invited to rule over the Mexicans. May 19, 
1822, Iturbide was made emperor. In a few months a pro- 
visional government was established ; in 1824 this was changed 
to a republic somewhat resembling ours. 

11. Austin's Journey. — Bancroft says: "He had to travel 
1,200 miles by land on roads infested by banditti and deserters, 
and he was ill prepared for such a journey. Nevertheless he did 
not flinch from the undertaking, but, disguised in ragged clothes 
and a blanket, passed himself off as a poor traveler going to 
Mexico to petition for compensation for services in the revolu- 
tion." 

12. Austin's Duties. — While Austin had secured from the 
Mexican government vast general rights to control the colony, 
he still thought it best to have those rights specially defined. 
On his return from Mexico he visited Garcia and asked that 
his duties be more clearly marked out. This was done. Austin 
was authorized to command the militia with rank of lieutenant- 
colonel ; to make war on any Indian tribe that troub*led his 



312 NOTES [ERA III 

colony; to bring in through Galveston Harbor all supplies his 
colony needed; and to administer justice. He was to do all this 
with no code of written laws to guide him until Mexico should 
furnish him with such a code. In all things, however, he was 
to be subject to the Governor of Texas and the Commandant- 
General. 

13. Old Three Hundred. — These w^ere called the "Old 
Three Hundred " ; many of the best families in Texas to-day are 
descendants of these colonists. 

14. Austin's Colony. — The limits of Austin's colony were 
for some years not defined, but in 1827 the following boundaries 
were fixed ; " Commencing on the west bank of the river San 
Jacinto, at the termination of the ten-league reserve from the 
Gulf of Mexico, and thence following the right bank of said river 
to its head ; thence due north to the road leading from Bexar 
to Nacogdoches ; thence following said road westwardly to a 
point whence a line due south will strike the Lavaca to within 
ten leagues of the Gulf of Mexico, and thence eastwardly along 
the said ten-league line parallel with the coast, to the place of 
beginning." Bancroft, p. 69. 

15. Laws. — This law was made Aug. 18, 1824; it contained 
only the general regulations and left details to be worked out by 
laws to be passed by the different state legislatures. March 24, 
1825, the legislature of Coahuila and Texas passed such a law. 

16. De Witt's colony w^as bounded on the north by the 
San Antonio and Nacogdoches road ; on the east by Austin's 
colony and the Lavaca River ; on the south by De Leon's colony, 
and on the west by the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers. 

17. Deaf Smith. — One of the settlers who came with Kerr 
was Erastus ("Deaf") Smith, of whom the pupil will read later 
as a hero in the Texas struggle for independence. 

18. This census is to be seen in the Nacogdoches archives. 
See also " De Witt's Colony " by Miss Ethel Rather, Texas His- 
torical Quarterly, Oct., 1904. 

19. Victoria. — So called from Guadalupe Victoria, the first 
President of the Mexican Republic. 

20. Hayden and Benjamin Edwards, Kentuckians by birth, 
came from a family distinguished throughout the Southern 



ERA III] NOTES 3^3 

States for worth, energy, and intellectual power. Aftei the fail- 
ure of their colony in Texas, Benjamin returned to Mississippi, 
where he ran for governor, but died (about 1845) during the 
campaign. Bancroft says Hayden Edwards returned to Texas 
after the Texas Revolution and represented his district in Con- 
gress. 

21. Austin's Letter. — Austin wrote: "The subject has 
caused me great unhappiness, but I had determined not to inter- 
fere with it in any way. It is a dangerous one to touch, and 
particularly to write about. You wish me to advise you. I 
scarcely know what course will be the best. The uncertainty as 
to the precise nature of the charges against you renders it diffi- 
cult, nay, impossible, to make a regular defense. I think, how- 
ever, I would write directly to the governor of the State. Give 
him a full statement of facts, and a very minute history of the 
acts of your principal enemies and their opponents, and their 
manner of doing business in every particular both in regard to 
your brother as well as all others." 

22. Hunter's life was a strange story of adventure. While 
he was yet a babe his parents were killed by the savages, and 
he was adopted by an Indian brave. His wonderful skill in hunt- 
ing* gave him the name Hunter. John Dunn of Missouri having 
shown him great kindness, he called himself John Dunn. Meet- 
ing some fur traders, he was led to give up his Indian life and 
engage in business; all his spare time was given to study. In 
vigorous English he describes the new life that opened before 
him when he began to be able to read with ease, and the new 
feelings that came when he visited the large cities of the East. 
In 1823-24 he traveled in Europe, and spent some time in London, 
where fashionable society made a great pet of him ; here he 
wrote and talked much of the Indians, saying he felt it his duty 
to devote his life to their improvement. After his return from 
London he went to live among the Cherokees, over whom he 
gained great power and influence. The Indians having failed to 
keep their solemn promise to Edwards, and Fields having already 
been killed. Hunter had started with two or three companions 
to join the Fredonians at Nacogdoches when he was murdered. 

23. Edwards was deeply touched by this kindness to his 
colonists, as the following extract from a letter written by him 
to Ahumada will show : " Your kind, your friendly, and gen- 



314 NOTES [ERA IV 

erous deportment towards my friends and fellow-soldiers while 
prisoners of yours, entitled you and the officers under your com- 
mand to the expression of my thanks and has insured to you 
and them a distinction in our hearts that will ever separate you 
from the rest of your countrymen who have oppressed us. As a 
foe to your country, I view you still as a national enemy ; but as 
a man and a philanthropist, you have powerful claims upon my 
heart." 

24. Burnet, Vehlein and De Zavala afterwards sold their 
lands to New York speculators. 

25. Empresarios. — In addition to those already mentioned 
in the text the empresarios were Robert Leftwich, James Powers, 
McMullen and McGloin, Joseph Vehlein, David G. Burnet, Sterl- 
ing C. Robertson, Lorenzo de Zavala, Power and Hewitson, Ben- 
jamin R. Milam, John Cameron, Frost Thorn, General Vicente 
Filisola, Arthur G. Wavell, Stephen J. Wilson, John L. Vv^ood- 
bury, Exeter and Wilson, Juan Dominguez, Padilla and Cham- 
bers, Juan Vicente Campos, Grant and Beales. Only a few ac- 
complished any permanent results. 

ERA IV 

1. Alaman was the secretary of foreign and internal rela- 
tions. The teacher and mature student will be interested to read 
Alaman's report, translated, in Executive Documents, 25th Con- 
gress, 2nd Series, No. 12. He makes out a strong case against 
the Anglo-Saxon colonists. 

2. Garrisons. — Three hundred and fifty soldiers were sta- 
tioned at Nacogdoches under Col. Piedras ; 150 at Anahuac (on 
Galveston Bay), under Capt. Bradburn ; more than a hundred at 
Velasco (east side of Brazos and Gulf shore), under Col. 
Ugartechea; and a smaller force at Fort Teran (on the Neches), 
under Bean. The garrisons at both Goliad and San Antonio 
were increased. 

3. Dr. Branch T. Archer, a native of Virginia, came to 
Texas in 1831. From the first he espoused the cause of the 
people against Mexico. In 1835 Archer distinguished himself 
by the skill shown as presiding officer over the Consultation. 
He served in Congress during the Republic, being Speaker of the 



ERA IV] NOTES 3^5 

House for a time; under Lamar he was Secretary of War. In 
1845 Archer, already broken in heakh, was crushed by the 
death of his loved daughter; in the midst of his grief messages 
came asking him to preside at a meeting called at Brazoria to 
consider the question of Texas being annexed to the United 
States. Archer said it was impossible for him to go, that the 
world contained nothing more of interest for him, but the mes- 
sengers still pleaded with him, and finally one said : " We do not 
forget, sir, that you helped to rock the cradle of our revolution, 
and we now ask your aid in a moment as vital as any in the 
past." The old gentleman's eye kindled, and rising with dignity, 
he said, " Tell the people I will comply with their wishes. I 
will bury my grief." Loved and honored by his countrymen, he 
died September, 1856. 

4. John Austin was born in Connecticut and began his life 
of adventure by going to sea. He was a member of Long's 
Expedition and was sent as a prisoner into Mexico, but managed 
to gain a release. Having met Stephen F. Austin (to whom he 
was not related) in Mexico, he returned to Texas and settled 
in Austin's colony, where his brave spirit and commanding char- 
acter soon won for him a prominent place. In 1833 he died from 
cholera, and by his death the Texas Revolution lost a stanch 
supporter. 

5. Plan of Revolution. — In January, 1832, Santa Anna, of 
whom we shall soon hear m.uch, had pronounced against Bus- 
tamante. It will interest the student to know that the plan of 
revolution in Mexico was this : Whenever a set of people in 
Mexico become dissatisfied from any common cause, or from 
mere want of excitement, they begin by uttering complaints and 
imprecations against the existing form of government, or its 
members, mingled with praises of some other systems or per- 
sons: this, the first stage of a revolution, is termed a grito. If 
the grito continues unchecked for some days, a public meet- 
ing is held, in which the grievances and modes of redress are dis- 
cussed, and arrangements are made for expressing them more 
clearly : this second stage is called a pronunciamento. Then 
comes the plan, always bearing the name of the place at which 
it was concluded. Every large city in Mexico has its plan; in 
more than one instance the garrison of a little post, headed by a 
sergeant, has issued its propositions for a change of government. 



3l6 NOTES [ERA IV 

accompanied by the resolutions of t\e frame: s to die in its 
snpport. — (For a more detailed account of a Mexican Revolution, 
see Yoakum History of Texas, from which this account is con- 
densed.) 

6. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was born in 1792 at 
Jalapa. While yet in the flower of youth he espoused the cause 
of the Republicans and showed marked ability as a soldier. He 
aided Iturbide in driving out the Royalists, but later he quarreled 
with and pronounced against his leader. His course from this 
time to the close of the Texas Revolution is traced in the text 
above. On his return to Mexico after his defeat and imprison- 
ment in Texas, he retired to his country home. In 1837 he 
reentered the army and lost a leg in the battle of Vera Cruz. 
He was in time recalled to public life and made dictator, bit 
was again overthrown ; he fought bravely in the Mexican War, 
and at its close went into exile. After a few years he was made 
president, abdicated on account of a revolution, reappeared to 
favor Maximilian, was banished, and was allowed to return to 
Mexico some years later, where he died in 1876. 

7. Wharton. — William H. Wharton came from Tennessee 
to Texas in 1826. After taking a prominent part in the Conven- 
tion at San Felipe he was appointed Minister to the United 
States (1836-1837). On his return home he was captured by the 
Mexicans and imprisoned at Matamoras. In 1838 he became 
Senator from Brazoria County. His death (1839) was caused 
by the accidental firing of his own pistol. 

8. Texan Idea of Necessities. — The articles named as neces- 
sities were: " Provisions, iron and steel, machinery, farming uten- 
sils, tools of the various mechanical arts, hardware and hollow ware, 
nails, wagons and carts, cotton bagging and bale-rope, coarse 
cotton goods and clothing, shoes and hats, household and kitchen 
furniture, tobacco in small quantities for chewing, powder, lead 
and shot, medicines, books and stationery." 

9. Austin's Letter. — The following is an extract from a 
letter written by Austin to Musquiz, a Mexican official : 

'■' San Felipe, November 15, 1832. 
" Esteemed Friend : — I agree with the sentiments expressed 
in your appreciated letter of the 8th inst., just received: 'He is 
to be pitied who has the misfortune to be at the head of public 



ERA IV] NOTES 317 

affairs in revolutionary times ;' but the only safe rule to follow 
is, to do one's duty regardless of the judgment of others. By 
this rule I have ever aimed to shape my actions, and my con- 
science is at rest. On several occasions I have found myself 
begirt with weighty embarrassments, but to the law of duty just 
mentioned, as to a polar star, I have looked for guidance, and my 
aim has ever been to promote the true interests of the nation 
and Texas." 

10. Santa Anna's Opinion of Texas. — Santa Anna wrote to 
the Mexican Secretary of State : '' I deem it my duty to call 
the special attention of the President to the condition of Texas. 
Satisfied as I am that the foreigners who have introduced them- 
selves into that province have a strong tendency to declare them- 
selves independent of the republic, and that all their remon- 
strances and complaints are but disguised to that end, I think 
it of paramount importance that General Filisola should forth- 
with proceed to fullfill his mission, having first been well sup- 
plied with good officers and the greatest number of troops pos- 
sible, with instructions both to secure the integrity of our ter- 
ritory and do justice to the colonists. The interest of the na- 
tion requires a kind policy toward those people, for they have 
done us good service, and, it must be confessed, they have not 
on all occasions been treated with justice and liberality. That 
they have grounds to so feel toward our government is de- 
rogatory to the honor of the, republic, and is deeply felt by them. 
Moreover, it is possible for them to become so exasperated as 
to make it impracticable to restore order among them without 
much trouble." 

11. The Minutes of this convention were never printed 
and the MSS. were unfortunately destroyed. John Henry 
Brown says : " The records . . . were supposed to have been 
burned wMth the destruction of San Felipe in March, 1836, by 
the troops of Texas. . , . Through the memoranda of Major 
James Kerr I am enabled to give what is believed to be a full 
list of the delegates." The list contains fifty-six names, but the 
author adds, " There is some doubt about three or four of those 
named being members." 

12. Sam Houston was born in Virginia, March 2, 1793. In 
1806 or 1807 his father died, and his mother, with her nine 



3l8 NOTES [ERA IV 

children, removed to Tennessee, which was then on the border 
of civilization. Here Sam went to school a little and worked 
on a farm. It happened one day that he found a translation of 
Homer's Iliad, read it, and became charmed. He asked his 
teacher to allow him to study Latin, but his request was refused. 
In a passion, he turned, and exclaiming, *' I'll never recite an- 
other lesson as long as I live,'" left the school-room. His older 
brother put him in a store as clerk. He hated this life, and 
vowed he would die if forced to remain. He soon disappeared. 
Search was made, and he was at last found among the Cherokee 
Indians. In answer to the' appeals of his brothers to return 
home, he replied: "I'd rather measure deer tracks than tape. 
Here I can have peace to read Homer, Virgil, and Demosthenes ; 
so go off and let me alone." He remained with the savages till 
his clothes were worn to shreds. Going home, he stayed with 
his mother some time ; but at the least show of tyranny from 
his brothers, he was off to the Indians. It is said that he could 
repeat the whole of Pope's translation of the IHad. After a few 
years, he surprised every one by announcing his intention of 
opening a school ! However, he made a success of his undertak- 
ing, had more pupils than he wanted, and raised the tuition 
from six to eight dollars per year! During the Creek War he 
joined the United States army (1813) and showed such bravery 
that he won the lasting friendship of Andrew Jackson. Later 
he studied law. After holding minor offices, he was, in 1823 
and 1825, elected to Congress. At the close of his second term, 
he was elected governor of Tennessee. In January, 1829, he 
married a lovely and charming girl ; but in a few months the 
bride went to her father's, and returned no more. The people 
were amazed, but no explanation was ever given. The cause 
of the separation is still a mystery. Houston resigned, gave up 
all the charms of civilized life, and sought refuge among the 
Cherokees, the friends of his boyhood. Years before he had 
been adopted by the chief of the tribe. On his arrival at the 
village, he was warmly welcomed, and invited to take part in 
all their councils. With the exception of some months spent 
in Washington, where he went to reveal to President Jackson the 
terrible wrongs of the Indians, Houston remained amiong the 
red men until 1832, when he came to Texas. 

David G. Burnet was born at Newark, New Jersey, in 1788. 



ERA IV] NOTES 319 

After receiving a liberal education he engaged in the mercantile 
business in New York, but tiring of this he (in 1806) joined 
General Miranda's expedition to free Venezuela from Spain. 
This effort proved a failure; after a varied experience, during 
which he liveo sjn.. years with the Indians, in 1826 he located 
permanently in Texas. We have seen that he wr.. one of the 
empresarios, but owing to the fault of the company that he 
represented, the colony was not a success. In 1831, as Mr. 
Burnet came again to Texas, bringing with him his bride from 
New York, he barely escaped death from shipwreck. The text 
shows the heroic part he played in the Texas Revolution and 
during the days of the Republic. After retiring from the Vice- 
Presidency he spent several years in peaceful quiet at his home 
near the San Jacinto River. In 1846 he became secretary of 
State : in 1866 he was chosen United States senator, but was not 
permitted to take his seat. He died at the advanced age of 83. 
Among the many talented men of Texas, Burnet was famous as 
a writer. 

13. Authority for Committee. — As some discussion has 
arisen of late concerning the personnel of this commission, the 
pupil may feel interested to know that the above statement was 
obtained from President Burnet, from the manuscript of an 
unpublished history of Texas by F. W. Johnson, and from Hon. 
Guy. M. Bryan. 

14. Lorenzo de Zavala was born in 1789 at Madrid, Spain, 
but spent his childhood and youth in Yucatan. He received a 
classical education, and also enjoyed the advantages of travel in 
Europe ; his manner and demeanor were such as to win respect 
and admiration even from his opponents. In 1820 and 1821 he 
served as a member of the Spanish Cortes. His love of freedom 
and his outspoken enmity to the absolute power of rulers made 
him an object of suspicion at the Spanish Court. Returning 
from a trip to France, he learned that charges of treason had 
been brought against him, and, to save his life, he fled to 
Mexico. He took a prominent place among the Mexican Re- 
publicans, and was the first signer of the Constitution of 1824. 
Pie was for many years a member of the Mexican Congress, was 
governor of the state of Mexico and was a cabinet officer. In 
1833 he went to Paris as Minister from the Republic of Mexico. 
Here he learned of Santa Anna's plans to make himself die- 



320 NOTES [ERA IV 

tator. De Zavala at once resigned and took refuge in Texas, 
thereby making Santa Anna his bitter enemy. De Zavala did 
all in his power to assist the Texas Revolutionists. After the 
battle of San Jacinto, he gave up his home (situated on De 
Zavala's Point on Buffalo Bayou) as a hospital for the sick and 
wounded, he and his family camping out in the fields. In 1836, 
while crossing the Bayou with his three-year-old son, the canoe 
capsized; he placed the boy upon the overturned boat and 
swam ashore. The exposure and the great mental strain under 
which he had so long labored brought on an attack of illness, 
from which he died November, 1836. Zavala was ever the 
friend of art and science, of culture in all its phases. His 
talent as a writer is especially shown, in his " History of the 
Revolutions in New Spain." 

15. Austin's Journal. — " Feb. 13, 1834, Mexico, w^hen I w^as 
put in the inquisition, shut up in the dark dungeon No. 15 and 
not allowed communication with any one." 

" Feb. 22. What a horrible punishment is solitary confinement, 
shut up in a dungeon with scarcely light enough to distinguish 
anything." 

"March 2. I obtained to-day a book — a tale called yes and 
no. I prefer bread and water with I ^oks^ to the besf of eating 
without them. In a dungeon, the mind and thoughts require 
aliment more than the body." — Taken from y\ustin's Prison 
Journal, which he kept in a small note book so well hidden that 
it was not discovered when he was searche.- on being imprisoned. 
Published in Texas Historical Quarterly, Januarv, 1899. 

16. Why Released. — The real causes that led Santa Anna 
to release Austin have never been clearly explained. It is sup- 
posed, however, that he felt that Austin, to whom he had made 
many flattering speeches and whom he pretended to love, would 
have a beneficial effect in soothing the angry feelings of the 
Texans. 

17. Austin's Address. — In a speech made to a large crowd 
that had come to welcome him, Austin said : " My friends, I can 
truly say that no one has been, or is now, more anxious than 
myself to keep trouble away from this country. No one has 
been, or is now, more faithful to his duty as a Mexican citizen. 
But how can I, or any one, remain indifferent when our rights, 
our all, appear to be in jeopardy? It is impossible. The crisis 



ERA IV] NOTES 321 

is such that something must be done, and that without delay. 
What are we to do? Let all personalities, or division, or excite- 
ments, or passions, or violence, be banished from among us. Let 
a general consultation of the people be called as speedily as pos- 
sible, and let them decide what representation ought to be made 
to the general government, and what ought to be done in the fu- 
ture." 

18. "Come and Take It!"— During this time the Texans 
drew the cannon in full view of the enemy and placed upon it 
in large letters : " Come and take it." 

19. Milam's Escape. — Viesca, the last governor of Coahuila 
and Texas, fled to keep from being captured by Santa Anna. 
He was assisted in making his escape by several friends, one of 
whom was Milam. The Mexicans captured the entire party in 
a mountain pass and took them to Monterey, from which city 
they were to have been carried to the gloomy prison at Vera 
Cruz, but fortunately each of the captives escaped. 

20. Andrews was mortally wounded early in the battle, but, 
turning to his nearest comrades, he said : " I'm a dead man, but 
don't let the other boys know it. Tell them to conquer or die." 
A county in West Texas is named in his honor. 

21. Reception of the Grays. — These received a most en- 
thusiastic welcome to Texas. When they arrived at Velasco and 
Quintana cannon were fired, flags were unfurled, and the air was 
rent by the cheers of the entire populace. At Brazoria their line 
of march was made literally a bed of roses by the fair young 
girls of the Brazos, and they were banqueted in most hospitable 
style by Mrs. Long, widow of General Long. Every town 
through which they passed gave them a like reception. 

22. Edward Burleson was born in North Carolina, in 1798. 
When his father went to the Creek war, young Burleson accom- 
panied him to keep the muster-roll. Here Burleson received 
his first lessons in military tactics from Andrew Jackson. In 
1829, he came to Texas, and at once made himself known by his 
skill in fighting the Indians. After taking a most conspicuous 
part in the Texas Revolution and in the Republic he entered 
the United States army as a member of Gen. Henderson's staff, 
and did valiant service throughout the Mexican war. Return- 
ing to Texas he settled near the source of the San Marcos River, 



322 NOTES [ERA IV 

and was elected State senator. On entering the Senate he was 
made president of that body by a unanimous vote. He died in 
Austin, December, 185 1. Many prominent Texans of to-day are 
proud to trace their lineage back to this "hero of 31 battles who 
was never known to retreat." 

23, 24. Grass Fight. — These days of waiting were enlivened by 
frequent skirmishes. General Cos was expecting each day rein- 
forcements under Ugartechea, who was also to bring large quan- 
tities of silver. The Texans resolved to capture this treasure 
before it reached San Antonio. On November 26, Deaf Smith, 
the famous scout, saw and reported the approach of 100 men 
with heavily laden pack-mules; the natural inference was that 
these men were the advance guard of Ugartechea and that the' 
bags contained silver. Bowie and 100 of his soldiers hastened 
to attack the approaching Mexicans, but before they reached 
the enemy heavy reinforcements were sent out by General Cos. 
General Burleson also led out aid to his men, and a running 
fight ensued, in which the Mexicans were so badly worsted that 
they abandoned the mule-packs and made all possible haste to 
reach their fortifications. When the Texans eagerly opened the 
bags to count out the shining coins they found nothing but 
grass. The men whom Deaf Smith had seen were not from 
Ugartechea's army, but were soldiers sent out by Cos to cut 
grass for his starving horses ; as this was the only provender 
to be had. This skirmish, known as the "Grass Fight," served 
to make the Texans more confident. 

25. Milam Monument. — Little is known of Milam's early 
life. In the war of 1812, he was noted for his bravery; next we 
hear of him as an Indian trader in Texas, then as assisting 
the Mexican patriots against the tyrant, Iturbide. He was im- 
prisoned again and again, but always managed to escape. After 
the capture of San Antonio his body was i-emoved, and now lies 
in Milam Square, where the Daughters of the Republic have 
erected a monument in his honor. 

26. General Burleson. — During the storming of San An- 
tonio, General Burleson had remained in camp with reserve 
troops, ready at any moment to march to Milam's assistance, if 
he should be needed. 

2^. The name Consultation was used instead of Convention, 



ERA IV] NOTES 



323 



as the Mexicans had come to think all conventions treasonable 
bodies. 

28. There were delegates from the following places: Bevil, 
San Augustine, Nacogdoches, Columbia, Austin, Liberty, Harris- 
burg, Matagorda, Mina, Washington, Gonzales, Viesca, Teneha, 
and Jefferson. 

29. Governor Smith's Orders. — About the middle of De- 
cember, 1835, however, Governor Smith had ordered General 
Houston to appoint Colonel Bowie to lead an expedition against 
Matamoras. For some reason Bowie did not go, but the Gov- 
ernor's enemies did not fail to bring up this action. 

30. Dr. Grant, a Scotchman, who had acquired an immense 
estate in Coahuila, was a member of the Coahuila Legislature. 
Not being a supporter of Santa Anna's schemes, he had been 
forced to flee. He had assisted in the storming of San Antonio, 
where he had shown great bravery. He wished to overthrow 
Santa Anna, and to restore the Constitution of '24, that he might 
return to his hacienda. 

31. Governor Smith's Message. — The following is an ex- 
tract from Governor Smith's message : " I know you have 
honest men there, and of sterling worth and integrity ; but you 
have Judases in the camp — corruption, base corruption, has crept 
into your councils — men who, if possible, would deceive their 
God. I am now tired of watching scoundrels abroad and 
scoundrels at home. Look around your flock; your discernment 
will easily detect the scoundrels. Let the honest and indignant 
part of your council drive the wolves out of the fold. They are 
parricides, piercing their devoted country, already bleeding at 
every pore." 

32. Travis. — We know little of William Barret Travis' life 
before he came to Texas. He taught school, studied law and 
emigrated from one of the southern states to Texas. We have 
already seen how he was imprisoned by Bradburn at Anahuac, be- 
cause he dared to express his disapproval of the officer's course. 
He afterward moved to San Felipe, and began the practice of 
law. At the time of his death, Travis was about twenty-seven 
years old. In personal appearance he was tall, with a well-pro- 
portioned figure; his carriage was soldier-like, and his counte- 



324 NOTES [ERA IV 

nance attractive. He married one of his pupils in Alabama, 
and left two children, a son and a daughter. No authentic 
picture of him is known. 

James Bowie spent his early life in Louisiana. He and 
his brother Rezin were great hunters ; Rezin Bowie invented 
the knife that bears his name, and presented the first one he 
made to James, for use in the chase. After serving in Long's 
expedition, Bowie settled in Saltilio, where he married the 
daughter of Vice-Governor Veramendi of San Antonio. At 
the battle of Concepcion he was second in command. 

Crockett. — Born in August, 1786, from boyhood David 
Crockett was known throughout Tennessee as the champion 
hunter. He fought bravely in the War of 1812. In 1823 he 
was elected to the State legislature. He felt sure that the Lord 
had called him to be a member of the United States Congress. 
Though uneducated, he possessed the knack of speaking to 
please the country people, and he was sent to Washington by 
a fine majority, in 1827 and 1829. He was opposed to President 
Jackson and for this reason was defeated in 1831. He came 
to Texas in 1836. His autobiography is a curious piece of 
literature. 

James Butler Bonham (according to John Henry Brown) 
was born in South Carolina in 1807 and was a boyhood friend 
of Travis. He studied law, settled in- Alabama, came to Texas 
in 1835, met Travis and was one of the garrison at the Alamo. 
He was sent to Goliad and to Gonzales for aid. Having failed 
to secure reinforcements, on the ninth day of the siege he 
made his way through the Mexican lines and entered the 
Alamo to die with Travis and his heroic band. 

SS. Mrs. Dickinson, one of the survivors of the Alamo, 
says : " While I was sitting at my door-way, wondering if 
the bells that had just ceased ringing were giving the alarm 
of the arrival of the Mexicans, my husband galloped up, and 
cried, ' The Mexicans are upon us. Give me the babe, and 
jump up behind me.' As the enemy were already in one of 
the streets, we hurried across the river, and entered the fort 
at the southern gate. The shots and shells were already fall- 
ing near us, but we escaped." 

34. Captain Reuben M. Potter's Description of Alamo.^ 



ERA IV] NOTES 3^5 

" From the recollection of the locality, as I viewed it in 1841, 
I could trace in i860 the extent of the outer walls, which had 
been demolished about thirteen years before the latter period. 
The dimensions here given are taken from actual measure- 
ments then made, and accompanying diagram gives correct 
outlines, though without aiming at close exactitude of scale. 
The figure A in the diagram represents the chapel of the fort, 
seventy-five feet long, sixty-two wide, and twenty-two and a 
half high, with walls of solid masonry four feet thick. It 
was originally of but one story, and if it then had any windows 
below, they were probably walled up when the place was pre- 
pared for defense. B locates a platform in the east end of 
the chapel ; C designates its door, and D marks a wall fifty feet 
long and about twelve feet high, connecting the chapel with 
the long barrack E, E. The latter was a stone house of two 
stories, one hundred and eighty-six feet long, eighteen feet 
wide, and eighteen feet high. F, F is a low one-story stone 
house barrack one hundred and fourteen feet long and seventeen 
feet wide, having in the center a porte cochcre, S, which passed 
through it under the roof. The walls of these two houses 
were about thirty inches thick, and they had flat terrace roofs 
of beams and plank, covered with a thick coat of cement. G, 
11, I, K were flat-roofed, stone-walled rooms, built against the 
inside of the west barrier. L, L, L, L, denote barrier walls, 
enclosing an area one hundred and fifty-four yards long and 
fifty-four wide, with the long barrack on the east and the low 
barrack on the south of it. These walls were two and three- 
quarters feet thick, and from nine to twelve feet high, ex- 
cept the strip which fronted the chapel, that being only four 
feet in height. This low piece of wall was covered by an 
oblique intrenchment, marked R, and yet to be described, 
which ran from ihe southwest angle of the chapel to the east 
end of the low barrack. M marks the place of a palisade 
gate at the west end of the intrenchment. The small letters 
(n) locate the doors of several rooms, which opened upon the 
large area. Most of those doors had, within, a semicircular 
parapet for the use of marksmen, composed of a double curtain 
of hides, upheld by stakes and filled in with rammed earth. 
Some of the rooms were also loop-holed. O, O mark barrier 
walls, from five to six feet high and two and three-quarters 



326 NOTES [ERA IV 

thick, which enclosed a smaller area north of the chapel and 
east of the long barrack. P designates a cattle-yard east of 
the barrack and north of the small area; it was enclosed by 
a picket-fence. Q shows the locality of a battered breach in 
the north wall. 

"The above described fort — if it merited that name — was, 
when the siege commenced, in the condition for defense in which 
it had been left by the Mexican general, Cos, when he capitu- 
lated. . . . The chapel, except at the west end and north 
projection, had been unroofed, the east end being occupied by 
the platform of earth, B, twelve feet high, with a slope for 
ascension to the west. On its level were mounted three pieces 
of cannon. One (i) a twelve-pounder, pointed east through 
an embrasure roughly notched in the wall ; another (2) was 
aimed north through a similar notch, and another (3) fired over 
the wall to the south. High scaffolds of wood enabled marks- 
men to use the top of the roofless wall as a parapet. The in- 
trenchment (R) consisted of a ditch and breastwork, th ; latter 
of earth packed between two rows of palisades, the outer being 
higher than the earth. Behind it and near the gate was a bat- 
tery of four guns (4, 5, 6, 7). all four-pounders, pointing south. 
The parte cochcre through the low barrack was covered on the 
outside by a lunette of stockades of earth, mounted with two 
guns (8, 9). In the southwest angle of the large area was an 
eightcen-pounder (10), in the center of the west wall a twelve- 
pound carronade (11), and in the northwest corner of the same 
area an eight-pounder (12), and east of this, within the north 
wall, two more guns of the same calibre (13, 14). All guns of 
this area were mounted on high platforms of stockades and earth, 
and fired over the walls. The several barriers were covered on 
the outside with a ditch, except where such guard was aiforded 
by the irrigating canal which flowed on the east and west 
sides of the fort, and served to fill the fosse with water." — 
(Colonel R. M. Potter's Account, Magazine of American His- 
tory.) 

35. The Flag. — As Texas had not yet declared herself 
independent of Mexico, they still fought under the Mexican flag. 
This design was a tri-colored banner bearing two stars, which 
wei-e to represent the " Twin States," Texas and Coahuila. This 
was called the federal flag of 1824. 



ERA IV] NOTES 327 

36. Dr. Garrison says: "As the defense of the Alamo is 
the most heroic event in American history, so, as the writer of 
this volume beheves, is the letter in which Travis announced 
the opening of the siege the most heroic document among Amer- 
ican historical records." "Texas," p. 207. 

ZT. Good Cheer. — Yet, in spite of all this, the spirits of 
our men were not cast down. Crockett was a good violinist, 
and often played to cheer the weary soldiers. Travis writes, in 
one of his last letters : " 1 am still here, in fine spirits and 
well to do. I shall continue to hold the fort till I get relief from 
my countrymen, or I will perish in its defense. Take care of my 
little boy. If the country be saved, I may make him a splendid 
fortune; but if the country be lost and I should perish, he will 
have nothing but the proud recollection that he is the son of 
a man who died for his country." 

38. General Cos, in spite of his solemn promise never to 
bear arms against Texas, was one of Santa Anna's officers. 

39. The Only Survivors of the Alamo were Mrs. Dickinson, 
her infant daugter, Mrs. Allsbury and child, of San Antonio, 
a Mexican woman, and a negro servant. Mrs. Dickinson tells 
the following story: "After the struggle had lasted some time, 
my husband rushed into the church where I was with my little 
daughter, and exclaimed : * Great God, Sue, the Mexicans are 
inside our walls ; all is lost. If they spare you, save my child.' 
Then, with a parting kiss, he drew his sword and plunged into 
the strife. Soon after he left me, three unarmed gunners came 
into the church and were shot down by my side. Just then a 
Mexican officer ca.ne In, ^nd asked me in English : ' Are you 
Mrs. Dickinson?' I answered, 'Yes.' 'Then,' said he, 'If you 
wish to save your life, follow me.' I followed him, and, al- 
though shot at and wounded, was spared." — Morphis. 

40. The Loss of the Mexicans is not known. Santa Anna 
reported 70 killed and 300 wounded, while Alcalde Ruiz, who was 
in charge of the burial of the Mexican dead, wrote that Santa 
Anna lost 1,600 men, 

41. For the Declaration of Independence, see page 163. 

42. Travis's Letter. — On Sunday, March 6, the last letter 
written by Travis was received. The Convention met, and 
the president read the message. All were deeply touched. One 



328 NOTES r^RA^IV 

member sprang to his feet and moved that the members of the 
Convention arm themselves, and immediately march to Travis's 
relief. Houston opposed this. He claimed that the first duty 
of the Convention was to establish a government, and adopt a 
constitution, and that fifty-six men — the. number of members — 
could do nothing toward cutting a passage through Santa Anna's 
ranks. He promised that he himself would at once start for 
San Antonio. His eloquence carried the day, but before he 
could collect troops and secure the means for relieving the Alamo 
it was too late. 

43. Cabinet. — The men who composed President Burnet's 
first cabinet were : Samuel P. Carson, Secretary of State ; Bailey 
Hardeman, Secretary of Treasury ; Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary 
of War; Robert Potter, Secretary of the Navy, and David 
Thomas, Attorney-General. Five of these six, including Burnet, 
have counties in this State named in their honor. 

44. Fannin was the last to be sacrificed. He met his death 
with unflinching courage, as, indeed, did all the little band. 
He made three requests of the Mexican officers: that his watch 
might be sent to his wife, that he might be shot in the breast, 
and that his body might be given Christian burial. He was 
promised all he asked ; but the watch remained in the officer's 
pocket, Fannin was shot in the head, and his body left unburied. 

45. Col. Garay, an officer in the Mexican army, generously 
saved three physicians and a few of Fannin's men by concealing 
them in his tent during the massacre. Senora Alvarez, the wife 
of one of Urrea's officers, was also exceedingly kind to the 
prisoners, and succeeded in releasing more than one poor Texan. 
Dr. Barnard and Dr. Shackelford have written interesting ac- 
counts of the Battle of the Coleto and of the massacre. 

46. Other Reading. — See Mrs. Kate Scurry Terrell's " The 
Runaway Scrape," Scarff's Comprehensive History of Texas, p. 
669. Also Mrs. Harris' experiences in the " Texas Historical 
Quarterly." 

47. Erastus or Deaf Smith rendered the Texan army great 
service during the entire revolution. As a guide and a spy he 
was without a superior. He took part in nearly every im- 
portant battle during the war, and always distinguished himself 
by his coolness, silence, and bravery. 



ERA IV] NOTES 3^9 

48. Numbers Engaged. — Most authorities now agree that 
Houston had less than eight hundred men and Santa Anna 
about 1,250 men. 

49. Commanders. — The extreme left was commanded by 
Colonel Sidney Sherman, the center by Colonel Edward Burle- 
son ; on the right was placed the artillery under Colonel George 
Hockley ; next came four companies of infantry under Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Millard, and then the 61 cavalrymen under Colonel 
Mirabeau Lamar. 

50. Sherman, 'leading the charge, uttered the famous cry: 
" Remember the Alamo." The Texans' fife and drum played 
" Will you come to the Bower?" 

51. Conversaticn Between Houston and Santa Anna. — An 
eye-witness to the meeting between Santa Anna and Houston 
has reported their conversation, of which the following is an 
abbreviated account: Santa Anna: "It devolves upon you to 
be generous to the vanquished." Houston: ''You should have 
remembered that at the Alamo." Santa Anna: "It was justi- 
fied by the usage of war. They had refused to surrender; the 
place was taken by storm; the usage of war justifies the slaughter 
of the vanquished!" Houston: "That custom is now obsolete; 
civilized nations have grown more humane." Santa Anna: 
" But I was acting under the orders of my government." Hous- 
ton: "You were the government of Mexico; a Dictator, sir, 
has no superiors," Santa Anna: " 1 have orders. General Hous- 
ton, to exterminate every man found in arms in Texas, and 
to treat all such as pirates. They have no government, and are 
fighting under no recognized flag." Houston: "The Texans 
fiatter themselves they have a government, and they will prob- 
ably be able to make a flag. What excuse have you to offer 
for the massacre at Goliad? They had capitulated on terms of- 
fered by your general, and yet were perfidiously massacred." 
Santa Anna: "I declare to you, General, I did not know they 
had surrendered. General Urrea informed me he had conquered 
them: hence I ordered their execution. If the day ever comes 
when I get Urrea into my hands, I will execute him for his 
falsehood." It is needless to say the last remark of Santa Anna 
contained not a grain of truth. 

52. President Andrew Jackson wrote thus to General Hous- 
ton : " I take the liberty of offering a remark or two upon a 



330 NOTES [ERA V 

report which is current here, that Santa Anna is to be brought 
before a military court to be tried and shot. Nothing now could 
tarnish the character of Texas more than such an act as this. 
Sound policy as well as humanity approved of the counsels which 
spared his life. His person is still of much consequence to you. 
He is the pride of the Mexican soldiers, and the favorite of the 
priesthood. While he is in your power, the difficulties of your 
enemy in raising another army will continue to be great. The 
soldiers of ]\Iexico will not willingly march into Texas, when 
they know that their advance may cost their favorite general his 
life. Let not his blood be shed unless imperious necessity de- 
mands it, as a retalitation for future Mexican massacres. Both 
wisdom and humanity enjoin this course in relation to Santa 
Anna." 

53. San Jacinto Battle Ground.— Through the untiring ef- 
forts of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas the State has 
purchased the ground made famous by the Battle of San Ja- 
cinto. 



ERA V 

1. Houston^s Cabinet.— The other members of Houston's 
first cabinet were: Secretary of Treasury, Henry Smith; Secre- 
tary of War, Thomas J Rusk; Secretary of Navy. S. Rhoads 
Fisher; Postmaster-General, Robert Barr; Attorney-General, J. 
Pinckney Henderson. 

2. Candidates Suicide.— The candidates for the Presidency 
were Lamar, James B. Collinsworth, Peter W. Grayson and 
Robert Wilson. Before the election both Collinsworth and Gray- 
son committed suicide. John A. Wharton also died in 1838. 

^ 3. Lamar.— Mirabeau B. Lamar, the descendant of an an- 
cient Huguenot family, was born in Georgia, in 1798. After an 
honorable career in his own State, he visited Texas, and was 
so pleased that he decided to make it his home. He won the 
admiration of both officers and soldiers by daring bravery in the 
battle of San Jacinto. Under Burnet's administration he was 
Secretary of War; in 1836 he was elected Vice-President Dur- 
ing the war between Mexico and the United States, Lamar 
showed himself a gallant commander. Later he was United 
States Minister to the Argentine Republic. He was noted for 



ERA V] NOTES 331 

his courtly manners, distinguished bearing and literary ability. 
He died in 1859. 

4. A Pig Causes Trouble. — France remained extremely 
friendly with Texas until 1841, when a pig came near making 
serious trouble. A pig belonging to an Austin hotel-keeper 
chanced one day to wander into the garden of M. de Saligny 
and help himself to a generous supply of corn. The French 
hostler abused the pig, whereupon the landlord horsewhipped 
the hostler, Saligny, angry at this treatment of his servant, 
made complaint, and the landlord was bound over to appear 
before court. The two men also had some difference over a bill. 
A few days afterward Saligny was in the hotel, when mine host 
ordered him out of the house. As the government did not make 
sufficient amends, Saligny demanded his passports and left the 
country. It is said through his influence the Texans were pre- 
vented from obtaining a large loan in France. The President, 
however, finally managed to satisfy him, and all was once more 
harmonious. 

5. Treatment of Indians. — It must seem cruel to the young 
student, when he reads how the Indians were driven from place 
to place, and hunted down like beasts, but he must remember 
the provocation his Texan ancestors had. In those dark days 
no mother on our broad Western prairies ever rocked her babe 
to sleep at eventide without the fear that the morning would 
find it torn from her arms and murdered by the red men. 

6. Mrs. Rebecca Fisher's experience shows the terrors of those 
days. In 1840 the Comanches killed her parents and took captive 
the lovely seven-year-old girl and her brother. As the Indians 
were pursued, Mrs. Fisher says, "They pierced my little brother 
through the body and, striking me with some sharp instrument 
on the side of the head, they left us for dead. We were rescued 
next morning." 

7. Colonel Fisher and General Green. — Colonel Fisher, 
General Green, who wrote an account of the expedition, and a 
few others had been sent out earlier that morning and were thus 
kept from escaping. In attacking the guard five Texans were 
killed and five wounded; some twenty of the prisoners refused 
to take part in the plot. Colonel Fisher and General Green es- 
caped from the castle of Perote later. 



332 NOTES [ERA V 

8. Ashbel Smith. — Peel and Guizot pronounced it one of 
the finest pieces of State literature they had ever seen. To Hon. 
Ashbel Smith, one of Texas's most accomplished sons, is due 
much of the credit of England's interest in Texas. He became 
popular in London, and induced many of the leading men to in- 
form themselves upon Texas affairs. 

9. Anson Jones. — Anson Jones was born in Massachusetts, 
in 1798. At the age of twenty-tw^o, he w^as licensed to practise 
medicine. He immigrated to Texas in 1833, settling in Brazoria. 
He was strongly in favor of Texan independence, and did good 
work on the battle-field and in the hospitals. He was a member 
of the Texas Congress, Minister to the United States, and Sec- 
retary of State before he became President. At the annexation 
of Texas, he retired to his plantation, where he busied himself 
with his professional and literary labors until 1858, when, in a 
fit of despondency, he took his own life. His " Republic of 
Texas " contains much that is valuable to the student of Texas 
history. 

10. President Jones* Valedictory. — The following is an ex- 
tract from President Jones's valedictory, when he turned over 
the government to Governor Henderson : " The great measure 
of annexation, so earnestly discussed, is happily consummated. 
The present occasion, so full of interest to us and all the people 
of this country, is an earnest of that consummation ; and I am 
happy to greet you, their chosen representatives, and to tender 
to you my cordial congratulations on an event the most extraor- 
dinary in the annals of the world — one which makes a bright 
triumph in the history of republican institutions. A government 
is changed both in its officers and in its organization, not by 
violence and disorder, but by the deliberate and free consent of 
its citizens; and amid perfect and universal peace and tran- 
quillity the sovereignty of the nation is surrendered, and in- 
corporated with that of another. . . . The Lone Star of 
Texas, which ten years since arose amid clouds, over fields of 
carnage, and obscurely seen for awhile, has culminated, and fol- 
lowing an inscrutable destiny, has passed on and become fixed 
forever in that glorious constellation, which all freemen and 
lovers of freedom in the world must reverence and adore — the 
American Union. Blending its rays with its sister States, long 



ERA VI] NOTES 333 

may it continue to shine. . . . The first act in the great drama 
is now performed. The Republic of Texas is no more." 

II. Flag of the Republic. — "It is universally believed in 
Georgia, that the flag of the Lone Star was the work of Miss 
Troutman, of Crawford County, Georgia, now Mrs. Pope, of Ala- 
bama ; and by her presented to the Georgia battalion, commanded 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Ward. 

" It was of plain white silk, bearing an azure star of five points 
on either side. On one side was the inscription: 'Liberty or 
Death/ and on the other, the appropriate Latin motto : * Ubi 
libertas habitat, ibi nostra patria est' 

" This flag was unfurled at Velasco on the 8th day of January, 
1836, and proudly floated on the breeze from the same liberty 
pole with the first flag of independence, which had just been 
brought from Goliad by the valiant Captain William Brown, 
who subsequently did such daring service in the navy of Texas. 

" On the meeting of the first Congress, the flag of the Lone 
Star was adopted as the national flag of the young republic. 

" A correspondent of the Central Texan denies the claim of 
Georgia, and insists that the first Lone Star flag ever unfurled in 
Texas was presented by Mrs. Sarah R. Dawson to a company of 
volunteers raised in Harrisburg, Texas, in 1835, and commanded 
by Captain Andrew Robinson. The flag was a tri-color of white, 
red and blue. The star was white and five-pointed." From 
Texas Almanac, 1861. 

ERA VI 

1. J. Pinckney Henderson was born (1809) in North Caro- 
lina. Before he was twenty-one he had been admitted to the 
bar. In 1836 he came to Texas in command of a company of 
volunteers. Soon made attorney-general under Houston, in 1837, 
he was sent as special minister to France and England to se- 
cure the recognition of Texas independence. In 1844 he went 
as minister to the United States. At the close of his term as 
governor, he refused to stand for reelection. In 1857 he was 
elected to the United States Senate. He died in Washington 
City, 1858. 

2. Thomas Jefferson Rusk was born (1803) in South Caro- 
lina. He won the friendship of John C. Calhoun, by whose 



334 NOTES [ERA VI 

aid he gained an education and was licensed to practise law. He 
moved to Georgia, but after a visit to Texas in 1834 or 1835 he 
determined to make it his home. Under Burnet he became sec- 
retary of war. He spent much time in the Texas camp, and 
often, in the darkest days, his eloquence roused the drooping 
spirits of the patriot army. At the battle of San Jacinto he was 
conspicuous for his bravery. In 1837 he was in the Texan Con- 
gress. Soon after he went against the Indians, who were prov- 
ing troublesome, and defeated them. After serving as chief- 
justice, he was made president of the annexation convention, 
and was elected United States senator from Texas. In 1857, 
to the surprise and grief of his friends, he committed suicide! 
The loss of his wife the year before wrecked his health and 
caused this sad termination of a useful life. In 1894 the state 
erected a monument over his grave in Nacogdoches. 

3. George T. Wood.— Little is known of the private life of 
Governor Wood. He came to Texas from Georgia, which was 
his native state. As a member of the Texas Congress, as a state 
senator, as an officer in the Mexican War, his career was suc- 
cessful. He died in 1856. 

4. Peter Hansboro Bell, born in Virginia (1810), came to 
Texas in 1836. In the battle of San Jacinto, he distinguished 
himself by his bravery. After holding several offices under the 
Republic, he entered the Mexican War and was made colonel 
of volunteers. In 1853, near the close of his second term as 
governor, he was sent to Congress. Having served as con- 
gressman four years, he moved to North Carolina, from which 
state he entered the Confederate army and was made colonel of 
a regiment that did valiant service. He died in 1898. 

5. Clay, Webster, Calhoun.— It is interesting to note that 
in the great debate on the Compromise, the intellectual giants of 
the period, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun, 
once more and for the last time met in debate on the floor of 
the Senate. Clay and Webster favored, while Calhoun opposed 
the Compromise. 

6. Elisha M. Pease was born in Connecticut in 1812. He 
came to Texas in 1835. He held the offices of chief clerk in the 
navy and treasury, comptroller of public accounts, state repre- 
sentative, and state senator. In 1853, he was chosen governor. 



ERA VI] NOTES 335 

In 1855 he was reelected by a handsome majority. In 1867, 
General Sheridan appointed Pease provisional governor, but he 
resigned in 1869. In 1879 he accepted the office of collector 
of customs at the port of Galveston. Being opposed to seces- 
sion, he took no part in public, affairs during the war. He died 
in 1883. 

7. Scaling Public Debt. — The debts contracted by the 
Texas Republic were not settled at their face value, but were 
scaled to meet what the Texas authorities thought a just set- 
tlement. Many of the bonds issued were purchased from the 
Republic at sixteen cents on the dollar; therefore a man paid 
for $8,000 worth of bonds only $1,280. It was agreed that this 
man, when his bonds were redeemed, should not expect to re- 
ceive $8,000, but must be satisfied with a trifle more than the 
actual purchase money and the accrued interest. 

8. Hardin R. Runnels came to Texas from Mississippi in 
1841 or 1842. In 1853, he was Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. After holding the office of lieutenant-governor, with 
Pease, he was, in 1857, elected governor. His chief opponent 
was General Houston, who had lost his popularity among the 
people by his views on the "Kansas and Nebraska Bill." (See 
United States History.) After his term expired. Governor 
Runnels retired to his plantation on Red River, where he died 
in 1873. 

9. Cynthia Ann Parker. — It was during one of these cam- 
paigns that Lieutenant L. S. Ross, afterwards governor of Texas, 
rescued the long-lost Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been for 
nearly twenty-five years a captive among the Comanches. In 
1836 or 1837, a settlement called Parker's Fort was attacked 
by the Indians. Most of the inhabitants were either killed or 
captured. Among the latter was Cynthia Ann Parker, then a 
child of nine years. For five years no trace of her could be 
found. Colonel Williams happened, in one of his trading tours 
through the Comanche tribes, to hear of a white m^alden who 
had been adopted by an Indian family. He went to the parents 
and offered to ransom the girl, but was told that no money could 
buy her. He was allowed to see Cynthia Ann, but could not 
persuade her to speak a word. Whether she had been ordered 
by the Indians to be silent, or had forgotten the English language, 
Colonel Williams could not tell. Cynthia Ann married a brave 



336 NOTES [ERA VI 

chief, Peta Nacona; she was devoted to him and her children. 
When the Texans, under young Ross, attacked and defeated 
the Comanches, Peta Nacona tried to escape with his wife and 
little ones. He was killed; the two sons fled, and Cynthia Ann, 
with her daughter, Prairie Flower, was captured. So soon as 
General Ross noticed her blue eyes, he felt sure she was the 
Cynthia Ann of whom he had heard so much during his boy- 
hood. She was sent to her uncle, but she did not like the new 
life, and longed for her wild home with her savage chief. She 
tried to escape, but her uncle prevented. She and the tiny 
daughter lived only a few years. One of her sons, Quanah 
Parker, became a chief of the Comanches. 

TO. Edward Clark was born in 1818 in Georgia. He came 
to Texas in 1843. After holding the offices of state representa- 
tive, senator, and secretary of state, he was, in 1859, elected 
lieutenant-governor. He died at Marshall, May, 1880. 

11. Frank R. Lubbock was born in South Carolina in 18L5. 
In 1829 his mother was left a widow, with seven children, and 
he began to support himself. Influential friends secured for him 
a West Point cadetship, but he refused it, saying his first duty 
was to his mother. In 1836 he came to Texas. He was made 
comptroller under President Houston. When Lamar became 
president, Lubbock was thrown out of a position. Not finding 
more congenial work, he began farming and wood-cutting. Such 
industry was bound to succeed. He was elected district clerk 
in 1841, and served until 1857, when he was made lieutenant- 
governor. He was, in 1861, elected governor. At the close of 
his term, he entered the Confederate army. He was selected 
by President Jeffer-son Davis as one of his aides. At the end of 
the war Governor Lubbock was imprisoned for seven months. 
In 1878 he was elected state treasurer, an office he held till 1891. 
He died at his home in Austin, 1905. 

12. These vessels were the Harriet Lane, Owasco, West- 
field, and Clifton. 

13. General Houston's Grave. — On March 2 of each year 
the students of the Sam Houston Normal visit General Hous- 
ton's grave, and hold there a memorial service. In 1907 the 
legislature appropriated ten thousand dollars to erect a suitable 



ERA VI] NOTES 337 

14. Pendleton Murrah, a native of South Carolina, moved 
in his early manhood to Alabama, .where he engaged in the prac- 
tice of law. On coming to Texas, he continued his profession 
till 1857, when he was sent to the legislature. In 1863 he was 
elected governor. When the Confederacy surrendered, he fled to 
Mexico. In 1865 he died at Monterey. 

15. The following is a list of Texans who reached high 
positions in the Confederate service : General Albert* Sidney 
Johnston (killed in 1862 at the battle of Shiloh. His remains 
now lie in the State Burying Ground at Austin) ; Lieutenant- 
general John B. Hood; Major-generals S. B. Maxey, J. A. 
Wharton, Tom Green (killed in 1864) ; Brigadier-generals Hilary 
P. Mabry, Hamilton P. Bee, Xavier B. De Bray, Richard M. 
Gano, Wm. P. Hardeman, Adam R. Johnson, Wm. Henry Par- 
sons, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Thomas N. Waul, Wm. H. King, 
Wm, Steele, Wm. Reid Scurry, Horace Randall, John W. Whit- 
field, P. C. Archer, of United States army (killed), Matthew 
D. Ector (lost a leg at Atlanta, Ga.), Ben McCulloch (killed), 
Louis Wigfall, Allison Nelson, Henry E, McCulloch, Joseph L. 
Hogg, H. B. Granbury (killed at Franklin, Tenn., in Hood's 
campaign), Walter P. Lane, Thomas Harrison, James E. Harri- 
son, John Gregg (killed in a later battle around Richmond, Va.), 
Richard Waterhouse, Jerome B. Robertson, Felix H. Robertson, 
Frank C. Armstrong, Elkanah Greer, Arthur P. Bagby. There 
were about 1900 Texans in the Union army; these were com- 
manded by Colonel (afterwards Brigadier-general) E. J. Davis 
and Colonel John L. Haynes. 

16. A. J. Hamilton was born in Alabama, in 1815. Fle came 
to Texas in 1846. He held the offices of attorney-general, rep- 
resentative, presidential elector, and congressman. He was a 
Unionist, and refused to leave his post in Congress until Texas 
had seceded. Returning home in 1861, he found himself unable, in 
accordance with his conscience, to assist Texas ; hence he went 
back to Washington and was made brigadier-general of Texas 
troops in the Union army. He was in 1867 made associate justice 
of the Supreme Court; in 1868 he was a member of the second 
Reconstruction Convention, in which he urged a just and liberal 
treatment of all citizens. He died in 1875 at his home in Austin. 

17. June 19th. — The date June 19 has ever since been cele- 
brated as emancipation day by the Texas negroes. 



338 NOTES [ERA VI 

i8. James W. Throckmorton was born in Tennessee in 1825 
and came to Texas in 1841. After serving with the Texas 
Rangers as surgeon in the Mexican War, he studied law. In 
185 1 he was elected to the legislature, where he served several 
terms. He was opposed to secession, being one of seven who 
voted against the measure. Yet when Texas seceded, he 
said : " I shall never draw a sword to stab my state, but shall 
shoulder my musket and stand by her until death." He en- 
tered the Confederate army. He was elected President of the 
Reconstruction Covention. When he was removed from the 
governor's chair by Sheridan, Governor Throckmorten returned 
home. In 1874 he was made congressman. He served in this 
capacity four years; his health failing, he retired to private life. 
He died at his home, in McKinney, in 1894. 

19. Iron' clad oath. — This oath read as follows: "I do 
solemnly swear, that I have never voluntarily borne arms against 
the United States since I have been a citizen thereof ; that I 
have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encour- 
agement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I 
have neither sought, nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the 
functions of any office whatever under any authority in hostility 
to the United States ; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to 
any pretended government authority, power, or constitutiton within 
the United States hostile thereto ; and I do further swear that, to 
the best of my ability, I will defend and support the Constitution 
of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; 
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take 
this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose 
of evasion ; and that I will faithfully perform the duties of the 
office on which I am about to enter, so help me God." 

20. Hancock won the lasting affections of the Texans. 
When he became a candidate for the democratic nomination for 
the presidency, his nomination was seconded by Governor Hub-' 
bard in so eloquent a speech as to win for the orator a national 
reputation. 

2T. Edmund J. Davis, a native of Florida, came to Texas 
in 1848. He held various offices of trust until 1861, when he 
refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. He 
joined the Union army, in which he remained till the close of 
the war. Returning to Texas, he was elected a member of both 



ERA VI] NOTES 339 

Reconstruction Conventions, being made president of the second 
convention. He died at Austin in 1883. 

22. Amendments. — The Fourteenth Amendment declares 
all persons born or naturalized in the United States to be citi- 
zens. The Fifteenth Amendment declares that the right of 
citizens to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

23. Guy M. Bryan, was born in Missouri in 1821 and came 
to Texas in 1831. During the Texas Revolution, in spite of his 
youth, he was entrusted as a courier to bear important news. 
After graduating at Kenyon College, Ohio, he studied law, 
served in both houses of the legislature, was elected to Congress, 
entered the Civil War as a private and came out a colonel after 
having been sent on many important missions by President Jef- 
ferson Davis and other Confederate leaders. As Speaker of 
the fourteenth legislature he bore himself nobly. Later Presi- 
dent Hayes called him to the White House to confer with him 
concerning matters in the South. Colonel Bryan helped to 
organize the Texas Veterans' Association and the Daughters of 
the Republic. At his death, which occurred in Austin in 1901, 
he gave as a priceless treasure to the University of Texas, the 
Austin Papers ; these letters and documents left by his uncle, 
Stephen F. Austin, form " the most valuable single collection in 
the Southwest." 

24. Richard Coke was born at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 
1829. At the age of nineteen, he graduated with honor from 
William and Mary College; later he was admitted to the bar. 
Moving to Texas in 1850, he located at Waco. He soon became 
prominent in his profession and was chosen district judge. He 
entered the southern army as a private, served four years, and 
came out a captain. In 1866 he became associate justice of the 
supreme court, but was soon removed, as an impediment to re- 
construction. In 1876 he was elected United States senator, an 
office that he held eighteen years. In 1895 he declined to be a 
candidate for reelection, and retired to private life. He died in 
Waco in 1897. 

25. Richard B. Hubbard, a native of Georgia, was born In 
1832. Graduating at eighteen from Mercer University, he then 
took the law course at the University of Virginia and at Har- 



340 NOTES [ERA VI 

vard. In 1853 he came to Texas and settled in Tyler, where 
his eloquence won for him the title of the " Young Demosthenes." 
In 1856, he was a member of the National Democratic Conven- 
tion. Soon after, he was made United States attorney for 
western Texas, an office he resigned to enter the legislature. 
During the war, he was a colonel of Confederate infantry. In 
1873, he was nominated for lieutenant-governor. When Governor 
Coke resigned, his place was taken by Governor Hubbard. In 
1884 Governor Hubbard's services were in constant demand as 
a campaign speaker. In 1885, he was appointed by President 
Cleveland minister plenipotentiary to Japan, He died in Tyler 
in 1901. 

26. Oran M. Roberts w^as born in South Carolina in 1815. 
His early Ij/e was one of hardships. He graduated from Ala- 
bama University in 1836. In 1841, he moved to Texas, where 
he began the practice of law in San Augustine. He filled the 
offices of district attorney, district judge, and justice of the Su- 
preme Court. He entered the Confederate army, and was elected 
colonel of the " Eleventh Texas Infantry." In 1864, he was 
elected chief-justice of Texas. In 1866 he was elected to the 
United States senate, but was not allowed to take his seat, as 
Texas was not reconstructed. In 1874 he was again made chief- 
justice. He held this position until he was elected governor. 
In retiring from the governor's chair in 1883, he went to his 
farm near Austin. In the fall, however, he was chosen professor 
of the Law department of the state university. In 1893 he re- 
signed this position. He died in 1898. 

27. The Peabody Fund is a large sum of money left by the 
philanthropist George Peabody, the interest on which is to be 
spent on southern educational institutions. 

28. John Ireland was born in Kentucky in 1827. He says: 
"What education I got I paid for by working two days in the 
^eek for five days' schooling at an 'old field school.'" Before 
be was twenty-one he was made deputy sheriff of his native 
county. When twenty-four he began the study of law. In 1853, 
he came to Texas and settled at Seguin. He entered the army 
as a private, and came out a colonel. He writes : " My chief 
fighting was done with mosquitoes on the coast"; but his sol- 
diers tell a different story. He served as district judge, member 
of both houses of the legislature, supreme judge and member of 



ERA VI] NOTES 341 

the National Democratic Convention. In 1882, he was nominated 
for governor by acclamation ; this happened again in 1884. In 
1887 Governor Ireland retired to his home in Seguin, and re- 
sumed the practice of law. He died in 1896. 

29. Lawrence S. Ross was born (1838) in Iowa, and came to 
Texas in 1839. In 1858, while at home from Wesleyan Uni- 
versity, Alabama, for the summer vacation, he raised a company 
of friendly Indians, and joining General Van Dorn, set out on 
a campaign against the Comanches. A battle was fought at 
Wichita Mountains, in which young Ross displayed skill and 
courage. At one juncture his men, thinking they were being 
mistaken by Van Dorn's for Comanches, fell back out of the 
smoke of battle, leaving the " Boy Captain " and three com- 
panions surrounded by the foe. Ross was seriously wounded. 
Refusing the military positions offered him, he returned to -the 
University, where he graduated with honor. He afterward won 
widespread fame by the defeat of the Comanches. He entered 
the Civil War a private and came out a brigadier-general, after 
being in one hundred and thirty-five battles and having five 
horses shot under him. He was a member of the Constitutional 
Convention (1875) and of the state senate. After his term as 
governor expired he became president of the Agricultural and 
Mechanical College. In 1895 he declined a place on the Railroad 
Commission. He died in 1898. 

30. James Stephen Hogg, the first native Texan to become 
governor, was born in 185 1 at Rusk. Left an orphan at the age 
of twelve, the boy supported himself, attending school when he 
could and making use of every opportunity to hear public speak- 
ers. He published a little paper called the " Longview News," 
studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1875 at Quitman. 
He held the offices of justice of peace, county attorney, district 
attorney, attorney-general and governor. After retiring to pri- 
vate life he resumed the practice of law. He died in Houston, 
March, 1906; his remains lay in state in the senate chamber of 
the Capitol and the great men of Texas came from every section 
of the state to attend the funeral. 

31. John H. Reagan was born in Tennessee, October, 1818. 
When thirteen years old young Reagan had to stop school that 
he might help support the family. The following incidents were 
from his own lips: "Although my days were full of toil, I 



342 NOTES [ERA VI 

always found some time to study. While plowing I carried a 
small dictionary in my hat; at the end of each furrow I stopped 
long enough to glance at a word or two, which I studied till 
I reached the other end of the field. My ambition was fired 
by reading the lives of great men. When sixteen I found a 
place to work my way through school and finally managed to 
enter Southwestern University of Tennessee: but my health 
failed and my money gave out. I determined to go off and 
earn money to enable me to return to the University and grad- 
uate. When about to leave, my college chum came to my board- 
ing house to bid me good-by. As I started off he said : ' We 
will meet in Congress.' He was the son of a wealthy father; 
I had nothing but hope and aspirations for the future, but I 
answered him : ' I will meet you there.' That was in 1838. 
In 1859 we were both elected to Congress. I reached Washing- 
ton before he did, and sitting in my room, with the door open, 
he entered, and his salutation was, ' Well, we have met here.' " 
Judge Reagan reached Texas in 1839, studied law, was admitted 
to the bar, served in Congress from 1857 to 1861. He was made 
Postmaster-general of the Confederacy. In 1865 he with Presi- 
dent Jefferson Davis was made a prisoner of war by the United 
States government and was imprisoned for several months. On 
his release he returned to his farm near Palestine and in 1875 
was once more sent to Congress. He continued to represent 
his district until 1887, when he was elected United States Sena- 
tor. In 1891 Judge Reagan, at the earnest request of Governor 
Hogg, resigned his seat in the Senate to accept the chairman- 
ship of the railroad commission of Texas, a position with less 
salary. This sacrifice of personal pleasure to the call of his 
state is the highest proof of his lofty patriotism. The last mem- 
ber of the Confederate cabinet, the " Great Commoner," as the 
Texas people loved to call him, died at his country home March, 
1905, and at his request was buried at Palestine among his own 
people. Every civil and military honor was paid to his memory. 
32. Charles A. Culberson was born in 1855 at Dadeville, 
Alabama. He is the eldest son of Hon. David B. Culberson, 
for many years a leading member of Congress and one of the 
most eminent jurists in our country. In 1857 the senior Culber- 
son moved to Texas and located at Gilmer, but soon removed 
to Jefferson. The boy Charles attended the common schools of 



ERA VI] NOTES 343 

Gilmer and Jefferson, graduated at the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, and studied law at the University of Virginia, where he 
won special honors in oratory. After serving as county attor- 
ney of Marion County, in 1888 he moved to Dallas. He was 
attorney-general for four years (1891-1895), governor for two 
terms, was elected to the United States Senate in 1899 and re- 
elected in 1905 and in 191 1. He wears the laurels of victory won 
in every contest before the people. 

S3. Texans in Spanish-American War. — Lieut. Marshall, a 
native Texan, was one of Admiral Dewey's officers on the flag- 
ship Olympia in the battle of Manila Bay. Col. W. H. Mabry 
died in Cuba while commanding the First Texas Infantry. Col. 
J. R. Waties of the First Texas Cavalry was promoted briga- 
dier-general by President McKinley. The following year two 
Texans, Luther R. Hare and Robert L. Howze, won renown in 
several engagements in the Philippines, rescued Lieut. Gilmore 
after a perilous expedition that attracted national attention, 
and later each was made a brigadier-general of United States 
Volunteers. 

[The author is indebted to Hon. Hampson Gary, of Tyler, for 
material on the Spanish-American War.] 

34. Joseph D. Sayers was born (1841) at Grenada, Missis- 
sippi. Coming to Texas in 1851, he w^as educated at the Mili- 
tary Institute, Bastrop. When the Civil War began (1861), 
young Sayers joined the Confederate Army. In his first battle 
he showed such courage that Colonel Tom Green wrote of him.: 
" Lieutenant Sayers during the whole day reminded me of a hero 
in the days of chivalry. He is as cool in a stortn of grape-shell 
as a veteran. I recommend him for promotion." In spite of 
being twice severely wounded, young Sayers served till the close 
of the war (1865), coming out a major. Returning to Bastrop, 
he taught school and then studied law. In 1873 he was elected 
state senator; in 1879 and 1880 he served as lieutenant-gov- 
ernor ; in 1884 he was elected to Congress, where he remained 
until 1899,. serving for twelve years upon the committee on ap- 
propriations and part of that time as its chairman. He now 
lives in Austin. 

35. Mexico's Kindness.— Let us never forget that the Con- 
gress of the Republic of Mexico appropriated from the treasury 



344 NOTES [ERA VI 

$30,000 for the storm sufferers, while private Mexican citizens 
also gave liberally. 

36. Elizabeth Nay. — " An account of art in Texas [to-day] is 
chiefly an account of our great sculptor, Elizabeth Ney. It is 
needless to ask by v^hat unexpected beneficence of fortune an 
artist, who was the glory of the most cultured art center of 
Europe, was vouchsafed to an obscure young state. God loves 
Texas : let that suffice to explain so delightful a miracle. The 
wonderful romance of our history inspired Miss Ney to apply 
her genius to the production of life-size statues of Austin and 
Houston, which are now among the most priceless of our pos- 
sessions." — Mrs. Bride Neil Taylor, in Raines' Year Book. 
Miss Ney died at her studio in Austin, July, 1907. 

37. S. W. T. Lanham was born in South Carolina, July 
4, 1846. He had a passion for good reading and when he was 
fourteen knew by heart Pollock's " Course of Time." 

When he was fifteen he had his first and only great teacher. 
Governor Lanham never tires of paying tribute to the influence 
and Hispiration of this man, under whose tutelage he learned as 
much Latin, Greek, and English in one year as most boys learn 
in four. While still a mere boy he entered the Confederate army 
and did gallant service till the end of the war. Returning home, 
he married, and in 1866 started overland with his pretty young 
bride to Texas ; his property consisted of two mules, a wagon, 
and $200; the trip took three months. 

The young couple chose Weatherford as a permanent home 
and taught school. In 1869 Mr. Lanham was admitted to the 
bar. He became district attorney; he served as congressman 
for sixteen years, doing valuable work on the judiciary com- 
mittee. After his terms as governor expired he retired to his 
home in Weatherford, where he died in 1908. 

38. Alexander W. Terrell was born in Virginia, November 3, 
1827. His parents moving to Texas in 1832, he was educated at 
the University of Missouri and was admitted to the Missouri 
bar in 1849. In 1852 he settled in Austin, Texas. As judge, 
orator, legislator, diplomat, and man of letters, he has served 
his state nobly. It is said that he has given to Texas many of 
the best laws on her statute books. 

From 1893 to 1897, on the appointment of President Grover 



ERA VI] NOTES 345 

Cleveland, Judge Terrell served as United States Minister to 
Turkey. 

39. Joseph W. Bailey was born in Copiah County, Mississippi, 
October 6, 1863. He was admitted to the bar in 1883 and came 
to Texas in 1885, locating at Gainesville. He was elected to 
Congress in 1890 and was reelected four times; in the Fifty-fifth 
Congress he was the Democratic nominee for speaker of the 
House. He was elected United States Senator in 1901 and re- 
elected in 1907. He is considered one of the most brilliant and 
forceful men in the South. 

40. Thomas Mitchell Campbell, the second native Texan to 
rise to the high office of governor, was born April 22, 1856, at 
Rusk. He spent his boyhood in going to school and in working 
on his father's farm. In 1873 he entered Trinity University 
where his record was excellent. Returning home in June — the 
family having moved to Longview in 1870 — he found that his 
father had met with serious losses; without a word the lad 
gave up his cherished plan of graduating at Trinity and went 
to work at a shingle mill turning over all his earnings to his 
step-mother whom he idolized. Governor Campbell never fails 
to tell young people that all his life he has regretted not being 
able to finish his college course. 

By hard study at night, he secured a law license in 1878. 
In 1891 he became receiver of the International and Great North- 
ern Railroad and moved to Palestine ; two years later he was 
made general manager of the road, but resigned in 1897 and re- 
sumed the practice of law. He is the only Texan who never 
held public office until chosen governor. From his earliest recol- 
lection, he had two fixed ambitions — to become a successful 
lawyer and to be true to his friends. As a little child whenever 
he was missed from home his step-mother would say: "Go to the 
court-house, you'll find Tom there listening to the lawyers speak." 

41. Oscar Branch Colquitt was born at Camilla, Georgia, De- 
cember 16, 1861. His ancestors were from Virginia, where they 
fought as bravely in the Revolution as did his father in the Con- 
federate Army. His parents moved to Texas in 1878, and settled 
on a farm near Daingerfield. This sixteen-year-old lad worked 
hard on the farm and' trudged two miles, morning and evening, 
to school. Later he decided to attend Daingerfield College. By 
working in a private family he made his expenses. At the noon 



346 NOTES [ERA VI 

hour on the farm, as he walked to school, and during recess he 
seldom joined in the amusement of other boys, but buried him- 
self in history, memorizing pages from the Constitution and talk- 
ing with older people from whom he could learn. His interest 
in United States history was so keen that he learned the names 
of every Cabinet officer from the time of President Washington 
to President Hayes. In all his boyish days the one friend who 
never misunderstood but always encouraged was his mother. 
He says: "She was in every sense my Alma Mater." In 1880 he 
determined to become a journalist. To learn the business 
thoroughly he made a contract with a small Daingerfield paper to 
work six months at $12.50 per month. He went with 'this paper 
to Greenville. In 1884 he became editor of the Pittsburg Gazette. 
Two years later he moved to Terrell and bought the Terrell Star. 
Full of energy and ambition, he studied law and was admitted to 
the Bar (1900). 

From 1895 to 1899 he was state senator. Governor Culberson 
appointed him state revenue agent in 1898, and Governor Sayers 
asked him to serve on the Tax Commission (1899). When Judge 
Reagan retired from the Railroad Commission in 1902 Mr. Col- 
quitt was elected ±0 succeed him and was re-elected in 1908. In 
191 1, Mr. Colquitt resigned to enter upon his high duties as Gov- 
ernor of Texas. The Governor's favorite books are the Bible and 
Shakespeare. His favorite character in all history is St. Paul. 
When asked by a Texas boy, "How can I succeed in life?" the 
governor replied : "Work hard and tell the truth." 



APPENDIX 

PUBLIC EDUCATION. 

Public Education under Mexican Rule. — That our an- 
cestors fully realized the importance of public education is 
shown by the record of their deeds. The Constitution adopted 
by Mexico in 1824 and ardently supported by the Texans stated 
that it was the solemn duty of the government to educate the 
masses. When Texas and Coahuila were made a State of the 
Mexican' Republic their Constitution declared public schools 
necessary to the life of a free republic. In spite of these 
statements, nothing was done to establish a system of schools. 
So little progress was made in educational matters that in 1832 
a convention of Texans assembled at San Felipe de Austin 
petitioned the Governor of Coahuila and Texas to take steps 
toward carrying out the provisions of the Constitution. In 
answer to this the State Legislature decreed that a portion of 
land should be set aside for the support of public schools, 
and several school laws were enacted ; but nothing practical 
was accomplished. When Texas declared her independence 
she named as one of her most serious grievances that Mexico 
had utterly failed to establish public schools. 

Laws Passed under the Republic. — Amid the numerous 
duties that devolved upon the leaders of the young Republic, 
they did not fail to find time to consider the matter of public 
education. In 1839 the Texan Congress set aside three leagues 
(13,284 acres) of public land for every county; the proceeds 
of this land were to be a permanent school fund for the 
county. In 1840 still another league was given to each 
county. President Lamar used every opportunity to urge upon 
Congress the necessity not only of endowing the schools of 
the future, but of organizing a system for the present. The 
populace was so scattered and public money so scarce that 
nothing practical was accomplished. We can but admire the 
wisdom of the men who were unselfish enough to plan for 
the children of future generations benefits that their own 
children could not enjoy. 

Education under the State. — In 1845, when Texas entered 
the Union, her State Constitution set aside one tenth of the 
revenue derived from taxation for a perpetual school fund. 
Governor Pease, who was an ardent champion of the cause 
of public education, advised the Legislature to neglect anything 
rather than the schools. In 1850 Texas had 349 pubhc schools, 

346a 



346b 



APPENDIX 



360 teachers, and 7964 pupils. In 1854 a better system was 
introduced and two million dollars in United States bonds were 
donated to the school fund. In i860 the school revenue was 
$80,984. No one among the progressive citizens was satisfied 
with the public schools, and many were discouraged because 
while there had been so much legislation there had been so 
few results. One great trouble that hampered the public 
schools of the South before the Civil War was the fact that 
they were considered the special property of the poor and 
needy ; parents who were able were expected to pay for the 
education of their children. So long as this feeling existed 
the free schools failed to become the active, living force that 
they now are. 

After the Civil War. — The years of the Civil War swept 
away even the little that had been accomplished in the way 
of public education; the schools were closed and the funds 
wasted. In 1866 the office of State Superintendent was created 
and a State Board of Education was established; this Board 
consisted of the Governor, the Comptroller, and the State Super- 
intendent. All sections of land alternating with those granted 
to the railroads and other corporations were donated to the 
school fund. The years 1875 and 1876 mark the beginning of 
a new era in the public schools of Texas ; then it was that 
the towns and cities began to levy special school taxes, to 
erect school buildings that were models of beauty and con- 
venience, to take charge of their own schools, to ernploy skilled 
teachers, and to place over these teachers professional super- 
visors who were held responsible for the progress of the 
schools. Brenham and Denison deserve special praise for be- 
ing the pioneers in this movement. While in 1876 there were 
only two towns that had taken control of their schools, there 
were, in 1906, three hundred and eighty nine independent dis- 
tricts, and two thousand two hundred and seventeen common 
school districts levying local school taxes; in a few cases 
whole counties district by district have followed this wise 
course and raised their schools to a high standard of excel- 
lence. The Peabody Fund has been an important influence 
in bringing about this change; with its aid the Sam Houston 
State Normal was established, and by its generous assistance 
many of the towns were encouraged to assume control of their 
schools. 

SxATE Superintendents.— The position of State Superin- 
tendent was filled by Hon. J. C. De Gress' from 1870 to 1875. 
Then followed Hon. O. N. Hollingsworth, from 1875 to 1876. 
As the Constitution adopted in 1876 did not provide for the 
office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mr.^ Hol- 
lingsworth was made Secretary of the State Board of Educa- 
tion, and served until 1883. Hon. B. M. Baker succeeded him. 
In 1884 a new school law went into effect, and this law re- 
created the position of State Superintendent. Mr. Baker filled 



APPENDIX 346c 

the office from 1884 to 1887, when he declined to be a condi- 
date for re-election. Hon. O. H. Cooper served from 1887 to 
1890, when he resigned. Hon. H. C. Pritchett held the office 
from 1890 to 1891, when he also resigned. Next came Hon. 
James M. Carlisle. Hon. J. S. Kendall, Hon. Arthur Lefevre, 
Hon. R. B. Cousins, and Hon. F. M. Bralley. 

Present Condition of the School Fund. — Our people are 
accustomed to boast of the magnificent school fund of Texas 
and to declare that in years to come we will have untold 
wealth to spend for public education. But let us not longer 
so delude ourselves; let us rather set before us stern facts, and 
confront the difficulties that these facts reveal. The land that 
was given to each county has been variously disposed of: some 
counties rent the land, others have sold their lands and in- 
vested the money in interest-bearing bonds. The sections of 
the public domain that (in 1866) were reserved for the schools 
have not brought in the revenue that was expected : parties 
who have leased large tracts have failed to pay the rent ; pur- 
chasers that bought immense quantities have defaulted in the 
payment. The 991,409 children within scholastic age receive 
from the State ( 1912) $6.80 each. The Constitution requires 
that public schools be sustained six months in 'the year, but 
under the present conditions that is absolutely impossible 
except in the districts where a local school tax is levied. Nine- 
tenths of the children of the State are educated in country 
schools that are entirely dependent on the State and county 
for support; therefore it is the duty of every citizen to do 
all in his power, by ballot or by influence, to develop and 
strengthen the rural schools. 

DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. 
In 1892 a number of patriotic women, wives and descendants 
of the early heroes of Texas, organized themselves as the 
Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The objects of the order 
are : 

1. To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and 
women who achieved and maintained the independence of 
Texas. 

2. To encourage historical research into the earliest records 
of Texas, especially those relating to the revolution of 1835 
and the events which followed ; to foster the preservation of 
documents and relics ; and to encourage the publication of 
records of individual services of soldiers and patriots of the 
Republic. 

3. To promote the celebration of March 2d (Independence 
Day) and April 21st (San Jacinto Day) ; to secure and hallow 
historic spots by erecting monuments thereon. 

The Sidney Sherman Chapter of Galveston has removed the 
bodies of President David Burnet and General Sherman from 
Magnolia Grove to Lake View Cemetery and erected over their 
graves a beautiful marble obelisk. The San Jacinto Chapter 



346d 



APPENDIX 



of Houston has for its special object the preservation and the 
adorning of the San Jacinto Battle-ground which is now the 
property of the State, thanks to the efforts of the Daughters. 
The William B. Travis Chapter of Austin during many years 
has tenderly cared for the invalid descendants of honored 
Texas heroes. The Sam Houston Chapter of Lampasas 
wishes to build a monument in memory of President Hous- 
ton. The De Zavala Chapter is planning to mark by memo- 
rial tablets all historical buildings and places. That these 
devoted women will accomplish their purposes no one who 
knows the " beauty and strength of woman's devotion " will 
doubt. In this day, when we hear so much of woman's sphere, 
let us not forget that it is eminently her work to teach her 
sons and her daughters to be patriots. Let the women of Texas 
but do their duty as lovers of their country, and with one 
accord the youth of the land shall cry, "Texas is my State, 
the Union is my country, and when I seek not their honor, 
may my own fall blasted and ruined." 



LIST OF ALL THE PLACES THAT HAVE BEEN THE 
SEAT OF GOVERNMENT OF TEXAS. 

1. San Felipe de Austin was the capital of Austin's colony, 
and here were held the public meetings of general character 
in early times; the archives of Austin's colony were kept here; 
the Conventions of 1832 and 1833 assembled here ; the Consul- 
tation and Provisional Government held their sessions here. 

2. Washington. The Convention that declared Texas in- 
dependent and created the first government and Constitution 
of the Republic met March i, 1836, at Washington. 

3. Harrisburg. President Burnet and his Cabinet remained 
a few days at Washington after the adjournment of the Con- 
vention, and then moved the seat of government to Harrisburg. 

4. Galveston. When Santa Anna approached Harrisburg the 
President and his Cabinet went to Galveston, which was then 
an uninhabited island except for a ^ detachment of ^ troops 
stationed there ; the officers remained in Galveston until after 
the battle of San Jacinto. 

5. Velasco and Quintana. President Burnet next estab- 
lished himself at the mouth of the Brazos, at Quintana and 
Velasco. It was at the latter place that the treaty was made 
with Santa Anna. 

6. Columbia. The first Congress of the Republic convened 
at Columbia, to which place the seat of government was trans- 
ferred in October, 1836. Here Houston was inaugurated Presi- 
dent, the first laws of the Republic were enacted, and the 
government of Texas was organized. Congress adjourned to 
meet the following May in Houston. 

7. Houston remained the capital until 1839, when Congress 
decided to locate the government at a city that should bear 
the name of the great Austin. 



APPENDIX . 346e 

8. Austin. The site of the present city of Austin was 
chosen and the capital located there. 

9. Houston. In 1842 President Houston, thinking Austin in 
danger from an attack by the Mexicans, called Congress to 
meet at Houston. 

10. Washington. Some time later President Houston re- 
moved the headquarters of departments to Washington, where 
by proclamation he convened the next session of Congress. 
Here he delivered his valedictory, and here President Anson 
Jones was inaugurated. 

11. Austin. When the United States proposed terms for an- 
nexation and the Texas Congress provided for a Convention 
to consider them President Jones convened the Convention at 
Austin, July 4, 1845. On February 19, 1846, from the gallery 
of the old capitol at Austin, President Jones delivered his 
valedictory and Governor Henderson was inaugurated. The 
seat of government has not been changed since that date. 



UNITED STATES SENATORS FROM TEXAS. 

Sam Houston, March 30, 1846 — March 3, 1859. 
Thomas J. Rusk, March 26, 1846 — July 29, 1857. 
J. Pinckney Henderson, March i, 1858 — June 4, 1858. 
Matthias Ward, December 6, 1858 — January 4, i860. 
John Hemphill, December 5, 1859 — March 3, i86t. 
Louis T. Wigfall, January 4. i860 — March 3, 1861. 
J. W. Flanagan, March 31, 1870 — March 3, 1875. 
Morgan C. Hamilton, March 31, 1870 — March 3, 1877. 
Sam. Bell Maxey, December 6, 1875 — March 3, 1887. 
Richard Coke, October 15, 1877 — March 3, 1895. 
John H. Reagan, December 5, 1877 — March 2, 1891. 
Horace Chilton (appointed to fill vacancy till Legislaiur? 
in'M). April. 1891 — March 30, 1892. 
R. Q. Mills, March 30, 1892 — March 3, 1899. 
Horace Chilton, December 2, 1895— March 4, 1901. 
C. A. Culberson, December 4, 1899—. 
Joseph W. Bailey, December 2, 1901 — 



CONSTITUTION 

OF THE 

STATE OF TEXAS. 

ADOPTED BY THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION CONVENED AT 

AUSTIN, SEPTEMBER 6, 1875, AND RATIFIED BY THE PEOPLE, 

FEBRUARY 1 5, 1 876. 



PREAMBLE. 



Humbly invoking the blessings of Almighty God, the people 
of the State of Texas do ordain and establish this Constitution. 

ARTICLE L 

BILL OF RIGHTS. 

That the general great, and essential principles of liberty and 
free government may be recognized and established, we de- 
clare : 

Section i. Texas is a free and independent State, subject 
only to the Constitution of the United States ; and the mainte- 
nance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union 
depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-govern- 
ment unimpaired to all the States. 

Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people, and all 
free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted 
for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands 
pledged to the preservation of a republican form of govern- 
ment, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all 
times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their 
government in such manner as they may think expedient. 

Sec. 3. All free men, when they form a social compact, have 
equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is entitled to ex- 
clusive separate public emoluments, or privileges, but in con- 
sideration of public services. 

I. When was this Constitution adopted? 

Sec. I. — I. To what is Texas subject? 2. On what does the Union de- 
pend? 

Sec. II. — I. What right have the people at all times? 2. What is said 
of a republican form of government? 

Sec. III. — I. Give Section 3 in your own words. 

347 



348 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 4. No religious test shall ever be required as a quali- 
fication of any office, or public trust, in this State ; nor 
shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of 
his religious sentiments provided he acknowledge the existence 
of a Supreme Being. 

Sec. 5. No person shall be disqualified to give evidence in 
any of the courts of this State on account of his religious 
opinions, or for want of any religious belief, but all oaths 
or affirmations shall be administered in the mode most binding 
upon the conscience, and shall be taken subject to the pains 
and penalties of perjury. 

Sec. 6. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to 
worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own 
consciences. No man shall be compelled to attend, erect, or 
support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry, 
against his consent. No human authority ought, in any case 
whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience 
in matters of religion, and no preference shall ever be given 
by law to any religious society or mode of worship. But it 
shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may 
be necessary to protect equally every religious denomination 
in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship. 

Sec. 7. No money shall be appropriated or drawn from the 
treasury for the benefit of any sect, or religious society, theo- 
logical or religious seminary ; nor shall property belonging to 
the State be appropriated for any such purposes. 

Sec. 8. Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write, or 
publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the 
abuse of that privilege ; and no law shall ever be passed cur- 
tailing the liberty of speech or of the press. In prosecutions 
for the publication of papers investigating the conduct of 
officers or men in public capacity, or when the matter published 
is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be 
given in evidence. And in all indictments for libels the jury 
shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, 
under the direction of the court, as in other cases. 

Sec. 9. The people shall be secure, in their persons, houses, 
papers and possessions, from all unreasonable seizures or 
searches, and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any 
person or thing, shall issue without describing them as near 

Sec. IV. — I. What is said of religious tests? 2. Can an atheist hold 
office in Texas? 

Sec. V. — I. Explain the meaning of Section 5. 2. Give all the dif- 
ferent modes you know of administering oaths. 

Sec. VI. — I. What natural right have all men? 2. What should no 
man be comp»ll»d to do? 3. What is the duty of the Legislature re- 
garding all religious denominations? 

Sec. VII. — I. What financial aid may religious schools receive from 
the State? 

Sec. VIII. — I. What is said of liberty of speech? 2. Is this priv- 
ilege ever abused? 3. How may the person slandered obtain justice? 

Sec. IX. — I. What three things must be done before a search-war- 
tant can be issued? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 349 

as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or 
affirmation. 

Sec. io. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury. He shall 
have the right to demand the nature and cause of the accu- 
sation against him, and to have a copy thereof. He shall not 
be compelled to give evidence against himself. He shall have 
the right of being heard by himself or counsel, or both ; shall 
be confronted with the witnesses against him, and shall have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor. And 
no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense, unless 
on indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases in which the 
punishment is by fine or imprisonment otherwise than in the 
penitentiary, in cases of impeachment, and in cases arising in 
the army or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in 
time of war or public danger. 

Sec. II. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, 
unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident ; but this 
prevision shall not be so construed as to prevent bail after 
mdictment found, upon examination of the evidence in such 
manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 12. The writ of habeas corpus is a writ of right, and 
shall never be suspended. The Legislature shall enact laws 
to render the remedy speedy and effectual. 

Sec. 13. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. 
All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done 
him in his lands, goods, person, or reputation, shall have 
remedy by due course of law. 

Sec. 14. No person, for the same offense, shall be twice put 
in jeopardy of life or liberty; nor shall a person be again put 
upon trial for the same offense after a verdict of not guilty 
in a court of competent jurisdiction. 

Sec. 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 
The Legislature shall pass such laws as may be needed to 
regulate the same, and to maintain its purity and efficiency. 

Sec. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, retroactive 
law, or any law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall 
be made. 

Sec. X. — I. What is meant by an "impartial jury"? 2, Name five 
rights of every one accused of crime. 3. When is an indictment of a 
Grand Jury unnecessary? When necessary? 

Sec. XI. — I. When is bail refused? 2. Show what is meant by giv- 
ing bail. Illustrate by example. 

Sec. XII. — I. What is a writ of habeas corpus? 2. Did any Gov- 
ernor of Texas ever suspend this right? 

Sec. XIII. — I. What is said of excessive bail? 2. Why should' all 
courts be open? 3. Explain "due course of law." 

Sec. XIV. — i. Give Section 14 in your own words. 

Sec. XV. — i. Give Stction 15 in your own words. 

Sec. XVI. — i. What is a "bill of attainder"? 2. An "ex post facto 
law"? 3. A "retroactive law"? 



350 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec, 17. No person's property shall be taken, damaged, or 
destroyed for or applied to public use without adequate com- 
pensation being made, unless by the consent of such person; and, 
when taken, except for the use of the State, such compensation 
shall be first made, or secured by a deposit of money; and no 
irrevocable or uncontrollable grant of special privileges or im- 
munities shall be made; but all privileges and franchises granted 
by the Legislature, or created under its authority, shall be sub- 
ject to the control thereof. 

Sec. 18. No person shall ever be imprisoned for debt. 

Sec. 19. No citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, 
liberty, property, privileges, or immunities, or in any manner 
disfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land. 

Sec. 20. No citizen shall be outlawed; nor shall any person 
be transported out of the State for any offense committed 
within the same. 

Sec. 21. No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or 
forfeiture of estate; and the estates of those who destroy their 
own lives shall descend or vest as in case of natural death. 

Sec. 22. Treason against the State shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort; and no person shall be convicted of treason except 
on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on 
confession in open court. 

Sec. 23. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear 
arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State; but the 
Legislature shall have power by law to regulate the wearing of 
arms, with a view to prevent crime. 

Sec. 24. The military shall at all times be subordinate to 
the civil authority. 

Sec. 25. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in 
the house of any citizen without the consent of the owner, nor 
in time of war, but in a manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 26. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the 
genius of a free government, and shall never be allowed; nor 

Sec. XVII. — i. What is said of private property? 2. Is this law ob- 
served in times of war? 3. What grants are forbidden? 

Sec. XVIII.— I. Give Section 18. 2. What English novelist wrote 
a book showing the evils of imprisoment for debt? 

Sec. XIX. — i. Explain Section 19. 

Sec. XX. — i. What is the meaning of "outlawed"? 2. Give reason 
for second clause in the section. 

Sec. XXI. — i. Explain "corruption of blood" and ** forfeiture of 
estate." 2. What was the old English law on this point? 3. What is 
said of the property of suicides? 

Sec. XXII. — i. In what does treason consist? 2. What is neces- 
sary to convict a person of treason? 

Sec. XXIII. — i. Give Section 23 in your own words. 

Sec. XXIV. — i. During whose administrations was the reverse of this 
section true? . 

Sec. XXV. — i. Can your father be forced to-morrow to receive a sol- 
dier as his guest? . ^ 

Sec. XX\'I.— I. Name four things prohibited in this section. 2. Ex- 
plain each. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 351 

shall the law of primogeniture or entailments ever be in force 
in this State. 

Sec. 27. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable 
manner, to assemble together for their common good, and apply 
to those invested w^ith the powders of government for redress 
of grievances or other' purposes, by petition, address, or remon- 
strance. 

Sec, 28, No power of suspending laws in this State shall 
be exercised except by the Legislature. 

Sec. 29. To guard against transgressions of the high powers 
herein delegated, we declare that everything in this " Bill of 
Rights " is excepted out of the general powers of government, 
and shall forever remain inviolate, and all laws contrary thereto, 
or to the following provisions, shall be void. 

ARTICLE IL 

THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT. 

Section i. The powers of the government of the State of 
Texas shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of 
which shall be confided to a. separate body of magistracy, to 
wit: Those which are legislative to one, those which are ex- 
ecutive to another, and those which are judicial to another; and 
no person, or collection of persons being of one of these de- 
partments, shall exercise any power properly attached to either 
of the others, except in the instances herein expressly per- 
mitted. 

ARTICLE in. 

legislative department. 

. Section i. The legislative power of this State shall be vested 
in a Senate and House of Representatives, which together shall 
be styled "The Legislature of the State of Texas." 

Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of thirty-one members, and 
shall never be increased above this number. The House of 
Representatives shall consist of ninety-three members until the 
first apportionment after the adoption of this Constitution, when, 
or at any apportionment thereafter, the number of Representa- 
tives may be increased by the Legislature, upon the ratio of 
not more than one Representative for every fifteen thousand 
inhabitants ; provided, the number of Representatives shall never 
exceed one hundred and fifty. 

Sec. XXVII. — i. What rights are here granted the citizens? 

Sec. XXVIII. — i. Who only may suspend laws? 

Sec. XXIX. — i. Explain this section. 

Sec. I. — I. Name the three departments of the government of Texas. 

Sec. I. — I. In what is the legislative power invested? 2. What is 
meant by the legislative power? 

Sec. II. — I. How many Senators are there? 2. What is the limit of 
the number of Representatives? 3. Number now? 



352 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 3. The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors 
for the term of four years ; but a new Senate shall be chosen 
after every apportionment, and the Senators elected after each 
apportionment shall be divided by lot into two classes. The 
seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the 
expiration of the first two years, and those of the second class 
at the expiration of four years, so that one half of the Senators 
shall be chosen biennially thereafter. 

Sec. 4. The members of the House of Representatives shall 
be chosen by the qualified electors, and their term of office shall 
be two years from the day of their election. 

Sec. 5. The Legislature shall meet every two years, at such 
time as may be provided by law, and at other times, when con- 
vened by the Governor. 

Sec. 6. No person shall be a Senator, unless he be a citizen 
of the United States, and at the time of his election a qualified 
elector of this State, and shall have been a resident of this 
State five years next preceding his election, and the last year 
thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, 
and shall have attained the age of twenty-six years. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be a Representative, unless he be a 
citizen of the United States, and at the time of his election a 
qualified elector of this State, and shall have been a resident of 
this State two years next preceding his election, the last year 
thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be chosen, 
and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 

Sec. 8. Each House shall be the judge of the qualifications 
and election of its own members ; but contested elections shall 
be determined in such manner as shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 9. The Senate shall, at the beginning and close of each 
session, and at such other times as may be necessary, elect one 
of its members President pro tempore, who shall perform the 
duties of the Lieutenant-governor in any case of absence or 
disability of that officer, and whenever the said office of Lieu- 
tenant-governor shall be vacant. The House of Representatives 
shall, when it first assembles, organize temporarily, and there- 
upon proceed to the election of a Speaker from its own mem- 
bers ; and each House shall choose its other officers. 

Sec. 10. Two thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum 
to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 

Sec. III. — I. How long is a Senator's term? 2. Explain the last sen- 
tence in the section. 

Sec. IV. — I. How long does a Representative serve? 

Sec. V. — I. How often must the Legislature meet? 2. What power 
has the Governor? 

Sec. VI. — I. Give four qualifications of a Senator. 

Sec. VII. — I. Give four qualificatio-ns of a Representative. 

Sec. VIII. — I. State this section in your own words. 

Sec. IX. — I. Why is it necessary to have a President pro tempore 
of the Senate? 2. Who is now the Speaker of the House, or who was 
the last one? 

Sec. X. — I. What part of each House is required for a quorum? 2. 
How may members be forced to attend? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 353 

day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manner and under such penalties as each House may provide. 

Sec. II. Each House may determine the rules of its own 
proceeding's, punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with 
the consent of two thirds, expel a member, but not a second 
time for the same ofifense. 

Sec. 12. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
and publish the same ; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either House on any question shall, at the desire of any three 
members present, be entered on the journals. 

Sec. 13. When vacancies occur in either House, the Gov- 
ernor, or the person exercising the power of the Governor, 
shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies ; and should 
the Governor fail to issue a writ of election to fill any such 
vacancy within twenty days after it occurs, the returning officer 
of the district in which such vacancy may have happened shall 
be authorized to order an election for that purpose. 

Sec. 14. Senators and Representatives shall, except in cases 
of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from 
arrest during the session of the Legislature, and in going to 
and returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty 
miles such member may reside from the place at which the 
Legislature is convened. 

Sec. 15. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, during 
its sessions, any person not a member, for disrespectful or dis- 
orderly conduct in its presence, or for obstructing any of its 
proceedings ; provided, such imprisonment shall not, at any one 
time, exceed forty-eight hours. 

Sec. 16. The sessions of each House shall be open, except 
the Senate, when in executive session. 

Sec. 17. Neither House shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that where the Legislature may be sitting. 

Sec. 18, No Senator or Representative shall, during the term 
for which he may be elected, be eligible to any civil office of 
profit under this State which shall have been created or the 
emoluments of which may have been increased during such 
term ; no member of either House shall, during the term for 
which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the ap- 
pointment to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either 
branch of the Legislature; and no member of either House 
shall vote for any other member for any office whatever, which 

Sec. XI. — I. Give three rights accorded to each House. 

Sec. XII. — I. Explain what is meant by " yeas " and " nays." 2. 
Give the benefits arising from this section. 

Sec. XIII. — I. How are vacancies in the Legislature filled? 

Sec. XIV. — i. For what crimes may a legislator be arrested during 
the session of the Legislature? 2. Give reason for this section. 

Sec. XV. — i. Give the section in your own words. 

Sec. XVI. — i. What is meant by "executive session"? 

Sec. XVII.— I. Give the section. 

Sec. XVITI. — i. Name four privileges forbidden a legislator. 2. W ba 
are "emoluments"? 3. Show the necessity for this section. 



354 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

may be filled by a vote of the Legislature, except in such cases 
as are in this Constitution provided. Nor shall any member of 
the Legislature be interested, either directly or indirectly, in 
any contract with the State, or any county thereof, authorized 
by any law passed during the term for which he shall have been 
elected. 

Sec, 19. No judge of any court, Secretary of State, Atcor- 
ney-general, clerk of any court of record, or any person holding 
a lucrative office under the United States, or this State, or any 
foreign government, shall, during the term for which he is 
elected or appointed, be eligible to the Legislature. 

Sec. 20. No person who at any time may have been a col- 
lector of taxes, or who may have been otherwise intrusted with 
public money, shall be eligible to the Legislature, or to any 
office of profit or trust under the State government, until he 
shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of such collec- 
tions, or for all public moneys with which he may have been 
intrusted. 

Sec. 21. No member shall be questioned in any other place 
for words spoken in debate in either House. 

Sec. 22. A member who has a personal or private interest 
in any measure or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legis- 
lature, shall disclose the fact to the House of which he is a 
member, and shall not vote thereon. 

Sec. 23. If any Senator or Representative remove his resi- 
dence from the district or county for which he was elected, his 
office shall thereby become vacant, and the vacancy shall be 
filled as provided in Section 13 of this Article. 

Sec. 24. The members of the Legislature shall receive from 
the public treasury such compensation for their services as may, 
from time to time, be provided by law, not exceeding five dol- 
lars per day for the first sixty days of each session ; and after 
that not exceeding two dollars per day for the remainder of 
the session; except the first session held under this Constitu- 
tion, when they may receive not exceeding five dollars per day 
for the first ninety days, and after that not exceeding two dol- 
lars per day for the remainder of the session. In addition to 
the 'per diem the members of each House shall be entitled to 
mileage in going to and returning from the scat of government, 
which mileage shall not exceed five dollars for every twenty- 
five miles, the distance to be computed by the nearest and most 
direct route of travel by land, regardless of railways or water 
routes ; and the Comptroller of the State shall prepare and pre- 
serve a table of distances to each county seat now or hereafter 

Sec. XIX. — i. Who are ineligible to the Legislature? 

Sec. XX. — i. Can a tax collector become a legislator? 

Sec. XXI. — i. Give reason for this section. 

Sec XXII. — i. Give a practical example illustrating Section 22. 

Sec XXIII. — i. Is this a wise law? 2. Why? 

■Sec XXIV. — i. What salary do the legislators receive? 2. What is 
meant by "mileage"? 3. Under, what circumstances does a member re- 
ceive no mileage? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 355 

to be established, and by such table the mileage of each member 
shall be paid ; but no member shall be entitled to mileage for 
any extra session that may be called within one day after the 
adjournment of a regular or called session. 

Sec. 25. The State shall be divided into senatorial districts 
of contiguous territory, according to the number of qualified 
electors, as nearly as may be, and each district shall be entitled 
to elect one Senator, and no single county shall be entitled to 
more than one Senator. 

Sec. 26. The members of the House of Representatives shall 
be apportioned among the several counties, according to the 
number of population in each, as nearly as may be, on a ratio 
obtained by dividing the population of the State, as ascertained 
by the most recent United States census, by the number of 
members of which the House is composed ; provided, that when- 
ever a single county has sufficient population to be entitled to 
a Representative, such county shall be formed into a separate 
representative district, and when two or more counties are 
required to make up the ratio of representation, such counties 
shall be contiguous to each other; and when any one county 
has more than sufficient population to be entitled to one or 
more Representatives, such Representative or Representatives 
shall be apportioned to such county, and for any surplus of 
population it may be joined in a representative district with any 
other contiguous county or counties. 

Sec. 27. Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be 
general throughout the State, and shall be regulated by law. 

Sec. 28. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the 
publication of each United States decennial census, apportion 
the State into senatorial and representative districts, agreeably 
to the provisions of Sections 25 and 26 of this Article; and 
until the next decennial census, when the first apportionment 
shall be made by the Legislature, the State shall be and it is 
hereby divided into senatorial and representative districts, as 
provided by an ordinance of the Convention on that subject. 

proceedings. 

Sec. 29. The enacting clause of all laws shall be : " Be it 
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas." 

Sec. 30. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill 
shall be so amended in its passage through, either House as to 
change its original purpose. 

_ Sec. XXV. — i. What is said of senatorial districts? 2. Which coun- 
ties have two Senators? 

Sec. XXVI. — i. Give the plan for apportioning the Representatives. 
2. When does one county form an entire representative district? 3. 
Could Brazos and Tom Green court ties be formed into one district? Why? 

Sec. XXVII. — i. Give the section. 

Sec. XXVIII.— I. How often does the Legislature apportion the State 
into districts? 2. When will the next apportionment be made? 

Sec. XXIX. — i. What is meant by "the enacting clause"? 

Sec. XXX. — i. Explain Section 30. 



35^ CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 31. Bills may originate in either House, and when passed 
by such House, may be amended, altered, or rejected by the 
other. 

Sec. 32. No bill shall have the force of law until it has been 
read on three several days in each House, and free discussion 
allowed thereon ; but in cases of imperative public necessity 
(which necessity shall be stated in a preamble, or in the body 
of the bill), four fifths of the House in which the bill may be 
pending may suspend this rule, the yeas and nays being taken 
on the question of suspension, and entered upon the journals. 

Sec. S3. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives, but the Senate may amend or reject 
them as other bills. 

Sec. 34. After a bill has been considered and defeated by 
either House of the Legislature, no bill containing the same 
substance shall be passed into a law during the same session. 
After a resolution has been acted on and defeated, no resolu- 
tion containing the same substance shall be considered at the 
same session. 

Sec. 35. No bill (except general appropriation bills, which 
may embrace the various subjects and accounts for and on ac- 
count of which moneys are appropriated) shall contain more 
than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. But if 
any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be ex- 
pressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much 
thereof as shall not be so expressed. 

Sec. 36. No law shall be revived or amended by reference 
to its title; but in such case the act revived or the section or 
sections amended shall be re-enacted and published at length. 

Sec. 37. No bill shall be considered, unless it has been first 
referred to a committee and reported thereon ; and no bill shall 
be passed which has not been presented and referred to and 
reported from a committee at least three days before the final 
adjournment of the Legislature. 

Sec. 38. The presiding officer of each House shall, in the 
presence of the House over which he presides, sign all bills 
and joint resolutions passed by the Legislature, after their titles 
have been publicly read before signing; and the fact of signing 
shall be entered on the journals. 

Sec. 39. No law passed by the Legislature, except the gen- 

Sec. XXXI.— I. What is said of "bills"? 

Sec. XXXII. — i. When only may a bill have the force of law? 2. 
What exception is made? 

Sec. XXXIII. — i. What bills must originate in the House? 

Sec. XXXIV. — i. What is said of defeated bills and resolutions? 

Sec. XXXV. — i. Explain clearly the first sentence in this section. 2. 
What is the consequence if this law be violated? 

Sec. XXXVI. — i. Explain the section. 

Sec. XXXVII. — i. What is necessary before a bill may be consid- 
ered? 2. Before it may be passed? 

Sec. XXXVIII.— I. What is the duty of the presiding officer regard- 
ing bills? 2. Why should this be done publicly? 

Sec. XXXIX.— I. When will the laws made by the twenty-fourth 
Legislature go into effect? 2. Is there any exception to this law? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 357 

eral appropriation act, shall take effect or go into force until 
ninety days after the adjournment of the session at which it 
was enacted, unless in case of an emergency, which emergency 
must be expressed in a preamble or in the body of the act, the 
Legislature shall, by a vote of two thirds of all the members 
elected to each House, otherwise direct; said vote to be taken 
by yeas and nays, and entered upon the journals. 

Sec. 40. When the Legislature shall be convened in special 
session, there shall be no legislation upon subjects other than 
those designated in the proclamation of the Governor calling 
such session, or presented to them by the Governor ; and no 
such session shall be of longer duration than thirty days. 

Sec. 41. In all elections by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva 
voce, except in the election of their officers. 



REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS. 

Sec. 42. The Legislature shall pass such laws as may be 
necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec. 43. The first session of the Legislature under this Con- 
stitution shall provide for revising, digesting, and publishing 
the laws, civil and criminal ; and a like revision, digest, and 
publication may be made every ten years thereafter ; provided, 
that in the adoption of and giving effect to any such digest or 
revision, the Legislature shall not be limited by Sections 35 
and 36 of this Article. 

Sec. 44. The Legislature shall provide by law for the com- 
pensation of all officers, servants, agents, and public contractors, 
not provided for in this Constitution, but shall not grant extra 
compensation to any officer, agent, servant, or public contractors, 
after such public service shall have been performed or contract 
entered into for the performance of the same ; nor grant, by 
appropriation or otherwise, any amount of money out of the 
treasury of the State, to any individual, on a claim, real or 
pretended, when the same shall not have been provided for by 
pre-existing law; r.or employ any one in the name of the State 
unless authorized by pre-existing law. 

Sec. 45. The power to change the venue in civil and criminal 
cases shall be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such 

Sec. XL. — i. Who calls a special session of the Legislature? 2. 
Upon what subjects may laws be made in a special session? 3. How 
long may it last? 

Sec. XLL — i. Define " z'iva voce/' 2. Give reason for this section. 

Sec. XLIL — i. Give the section. 

Sec. XLIII. — i. What were the duties of the first Legislature that 
met after February, 1876? 

Sec. XLIV. — i. Name the various items forbidden the Legislature. 

Sec XLV. — r. What is meant by "change of venue"? 2. What 
bodies have power to make such changes? 



358 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 



manner as shall be provided by law; and the Legislature shall 
pass laws for that purpose. 

Sec. 46. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the 
adoption of this Constitution, enact effective vagrant laws. 

Sec. 47. The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting the es- 
tablishment of lotteries and gift enterprises, in this State, as 
well as the sale of tickets in lotteries, gift enterprises, or other 
evasions involving the lottery principle, establishing or existing 
in other States. 

Sec. 48. The Legislature shall not have the right to levy 
taxes or impose burdens upon the people, except to raise reve- 
nue sufficient for the economical administration of the govern- 
ment, in which may be included the following purposes : 

The payment of all interest upon the bonded debt of the State; 

The erection and repairs of public buildings ; 

The benefit of the sinking fund, which shall not be more than 
two per centum of the public debt; and for the payment of the 
present floating debt of the State, including matured bonds for 
the payment of which the sinking fund is inadequate ; 

The support of public schools, in which shall be included col- 
leges and universities established by the State ; and the main- 
tenance and support of the Agricultural and Mechanical College 
of Texas ; 

The payment of the cost of assessing and collecting the reve- 
nue; and the payment of all officers, agents, and employees of 
the State government, and all incidental expenses connected 
therewith; 

The support of the Blind Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asy- 
lum, and the Insane Asylum, the State Cemetery, and the public 
grounds of the State ; 

The enforcement of quarantine regulations on the coast of 
Texas ; 

The protection of the frontier. 

Sec. 49. No debt shall be created by or on behalf of the 
State, except to supply casual deficiencies of the revenue, repel 
invasion, suppress insurrection, defend the State in war, or pay 
existing debt ; and the debt created to supply deficiencies in the 
revenue shall never exceed in the aggregate at any one time two 
hundred thousand dollars. 

Sec. 50. The Legislature shall have no power to give or to 
lend, or to authorize the giving or lending, of the credit of the 
State in aid of, or to any person, association, or corporation, 
whether municipal or other; or to pledge the credit of the State 
in any manner whatsoever, for the payment of the liabilities, 

Sec. XLVI. — i. What are "vagrant laws"? 

Sec. XLVII. — i. Can you sell lottery tickets in Texas? 2. Can you 
buy lottery tickets in Texas? 

Sec. XLVIII. — i. Name the eight purposes for which the Legislature 
may levy taxes. 2. What is meant by "the bonded debt"? 3. "Sink- 
ing fund"? 4. "Floating debt"? 5. "Quarantine regulations"? 

Sec. XLIX. — i. When only may a debt be created by Texas? 2, 
What is the limit? 

Sec. L. — I. What has the Legislature no power to do? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 359 

present or prospective, of any individual, association of indi- 
viduals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever. 

Sec 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make any 
grant, or authorize the making of any grant, of public money 
to any individual, association of individuals, municipal, or other 
corporation whatsoever; provided, however, the Legislature may 
grant aid to the establishment and maintenance of a home for 
indigent and disabled Confederate soldiers or sailors who are 
or may be bona fide residents of the State of Texas, under such 
regulations and limitations as may be provided by law ; pro- 
vided, that such grant shall not exceed the sum of $100,000 for 
any one year; and provided further, that the provisions of this 
section shall not be construed so as to prevent the grant of aid 
in case of public calamity. [See amendment, page 402.] 

Sec. 52. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize 
any county, city, town, or other political corporation, or sub- 
division of the State, to lend its credit or to grant public money 
or thing of value, in aid of or to any individual, association, 
or corporation whatsoever ; or to become a stockholder in such 
corporation, association, or company. 

Sec. 53. The Legislature shall have no power to grant, or 
to authorize any county or municipal authority to grant, any 
extra compensation, fee, or allowance to a public officer, agent, 
servant, or contractor, after service has been rendered, or a 
contract has been entered into, and performed in whole or in 
part ; nor pay, nor authorize the payment of, any claim created 
against any county or municipality of the State, under any 
agreement or contract, made without authority of law. 

Sec. 54. The Legislature shall have no power to release or 
alienate any lien held by the State upon any railroad, or in any 
wise change the tenor or meaning, or pass any act explanatory 
thereof; but the same shall be enforced in accordance with the 
original terms upon which it was acquired. 

Sec. 55. The Legislature shall have no power to release or 
extinguish, or to authorize the releasing or extinguishing, in 
whole or in part, the indebtedness, liability, or obligation of 
any corporation or individual to this State, or to any county, 
or other municipal corporation therein. 

Sec. 56. The Legislature shall not, except as otherwise pro- 
vided in this Constitution, pass any local or special law, au- 
thorizing: 

The creation, extension, or impairing of liens ; 

Regulating the affairs of counties, cities, towns, wards, or 
school districts; 

Changing the name of persons or places ; changing the venue 
in civil or criminal cases ; 

Sec. LI. — i. What right had the Legislature to grant money to the 
drought sufferers? 

Sec. Lin. — i. Explain Section 53. 2. What is meant by "municipal 
authority " ? 

Sec. LIV. — i. Explain the meaning of " alienate any lien." 2. Ex- 
plain the meaning of " change the tenor." 



36o CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Authorizing the laying out, opening, altering, or maintaining 
of roads, highways, streets, or alleys ; 

Relating to ferries and bridges, or incorporating ferry or 
bridge companies, except for the erection of bridges crossing 
streams which form boundaries between this and any other 
State ; 

Vacating roads, town plats, streets, or alleys; 

Relating to cemeteries, graveyards, or public grounds not of 
the State ; 

Authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children ; 

Locating or changing county seats ; 

Incorporating cities, towns, or villages, or changing their 
charters ; 

For the opening and conducting of elections, or fixing or 
changing the places of voting; 

Granting divorces ; 

Creating offices, or prescribing the powers and duties of 
officers, in counties, cities, towns, election or school districts ; 

Changing the law of descent or succession ; 

Regulating the practice or jurisdiction of, or changing the 
rules of evidence in any judicial proceeding or inquiry before 
courts, justices of the peace, sheriffs, commissioners, arbitrators, 
or other tribunals, or providing or changing methods for the 
collection of debts, or the enforcing of judgments, or prescrib- 
ing the effect of judicial sales of real estate; 

Regulating the fees, or extending the powers and duties of 
aldermen, justices of the peace, magistrates, or constables; 

Regulating the management of public schools, the building 
or repairing of school-houses, and the raising of money for 
such purposes; 

Fixing the rate of interest ; 

Affecting the estates of minors, or persons under disability; 

Remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures, and refunding 
moneys legally paid into the treasury; 

Exempting property from taxation ; 

Regulating labor, trade, mining, and manufacturing; 

Declaring any named person of age ; 

Extending the time for the assessment or collection of taxes, 
or otherwise relieving any assessor or collector of taxes from 
the due performance of his official duties, or his securities from 
liability; 

Giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds ; . 

Summoning or impaneling grand or petit juries; 

For limitation of civil or criminal actions; 

For incorporating railroads or other work of internal im- 
provements ; 

And in all other cases where a general law can be made ap- 
plicable, no local or special law shall be enacted; provided, that 
nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit the Leg- 
islature from passing special laws for the preservation of the 
game and fish of this State in certain localities. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 361 

Sec. 57. No local or special law shall be passed, unless notice 
of the intention to apply therefor shall have been published in 
the locality where the matter or thing to be affected may be 
situated, which notice shall state the substance of the con- 
templated law, and shall be published at least thirty days prior 
to the introduction into the Legislature of such bill, and in the 
manner to be provided by law. The evidence of such notice 
having* been published shall be exhibited in the Legislature 
before such act shall be passed. 

Sec. 58. The Legislature shall hold its sessions at the city 
of Austin, which is hereby declared to be the Seat of Govern- 
ment. 

ARTICLE IV. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The Executive Department of the State shall con- 
sist of a Governor, who shall be the chief Executive Officer of 
the State, a Lieutenant-governor, Secretary of State, Comp- 
troller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, Commissioner of the 
General Land Office, and Attorney-general. 

Sec. 2. All the above officers of the Executive Department 
(except Secretary of State) shall be elected by the qualified 
voters of the State at the time and places of election for mem- 
bers of the Legislature. 

Sec. 3. The returns of every election for said Executive 
Officers, until otherwise provided by law, shall be made out, 
sealed up, and transmitted by the returning officers prescribed 
by law, to the Seat of Government, directed to the Secretary of 
State, who shall deliver the same to the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, as soon as the Speaker shall be chosen ; and 
the said Speaker shall, during the first week of the session of 
the Legislature, open and publish them in the presence of both 
Houses of the Legislature. The person, voted for at said elec- 
tion, having the highest number of votes for each of said offices 
respectively, and being constitutionally eligible, shall be declared 
by the Speaker, under sanction of the Legislature, to be elected 
to said office. But if two or more persons shall have the highest 
and an equal number of votes for either of said offices, one of 
them shall be immediately chosen to such office by joint vote of 
both Houses of the Legislature. Contested elections for either 
of said offices shall be determined by both Houses of the Legis- 
lature in joint session. 

Sec. 4. The Governor shall be installed on the first Tuesday 

Sec. LVir. — i. Give the requirements for the passage of a local law. 

Sec. LVIII.— I. What is Section 58?. 

Sec. I. — I. Who compose the Executive Department of Texas? 

Sec. II. — I. How are these officers chosen? 2. Who now fills each 
of these offices? 

Sec. III. — I. What shall be done with the returns of the elections 
for Executive Officers? 2. What shall the Speaker do with them? 3. 
What shall be done when two persons receive an equal number of votes? 

Sec. IV. — I. When does the Governor take his seat? 2. How long 
does he serve? 3. Give three necessary qualifications. 



362 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

after the organization of the Legislature, or as soon thereafter 
as practicable, and shall hold his office for the term of two 
years, or until his successor shall be duly installed. He shall 
be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, 
and shall have resided in this State at least five years immedi- 
ately preceding his election. 

Sec. 5. He shall, at stated times, receive as compensation 
for his services an annual salary of four thousand dollars, and 
no more, and shall have the use and occupation of the Gov- 
ernor's mansion, fixtures, and furniture. 

Sec. 6. During the time he holds the office of Governor he 
shall not hold any other office, civil, military, or corporate ; nor 
shall he practice any profession, and receive compensation, re- 
ward, fee, or the promise thereof, for the same; nor receive 
any salary, reward, or compensation, or the promise thereof, 
from any person or corporation, for any service rendered or 
performed during the time he is Governor, or to be thereafter 
rendered or performed. 

Sec. 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces 
of the State, except when they are called into actual service of 
the United States. He shall have power to call forth the 
militia to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrec- 
tions, repel invasions, and protect the frontier from hostile 
incursions by Indians or other predatory bands. 

Sec. 8. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, con- 
vene the Legislature at the Seat of Government, or at a differ- 
ent place in case that should be in possession of the public 
enemy, or in case of the prevalence of disease thereat. His 
proclamation therefor shall state specifically the purpose for 
which the Legislature is convened. 

Sec. 9. The Governor shall, at the commencement of each 
session of the Legislature, and at the close of his term of office, 
give to the Legislature information, by message, of the condi- 
tion of the State ; and he shall recommend to the Legislature 
such measures as he may deem expedient. ^ He shall account to 
the Legislature for all public moneys received and paid out by 
him from any funds subject to his order, with vouchers; and 
shall accompany his message with a statement of the same. 
And at the commencement of each regular session he shall 
present estimates of the amount of money required to be raised 
by taxation for all purposes. 

Sec. 10. He shall cause the laws to be faithfully executed; 
and shall conduct, in person, or in such manner as shall be pre- 

Sec. V. — I. State the section. 

Sec. VI. — I. What is forbidden the Governor in this section? 

Sec. VII. — I. Who is the commander-in-chief of the military forces? 
2. Name five powers of the Governor. 3. Define " militia," " insurrec- 
tion," " predatory." 

Sec. VIII. — I. Conld the Governor call a session of the Legislature 
at Houston? Why? 

Sec. IX. — I. Name the duties assigned the Governor in this section. 

Sec. X. — I. Give Section 10 in your own words. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 363 

scribed by law, all intercourse and business of the State with 
other States and with the United States. 

Sec. II. In all criminal cases, except treason and impeach- 
ment, he shall have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, 
commutations of punishment, and pardons ; and, under such 
rules as the Legislature may prescribe, he shall have power to 
remit fines and forfeitures. With the advice and consent of the 
Senate, he may grant pardons in cases of treason, and to this 
end he may respite a sentence therefor, until the close of the 
succeeding session of the Legislature; provided, that in all 
cases of remissions of fines and forfeitures, or grants of re- 
prieve, commutation of punishment, or pardon, he shall file in 
the office of the Secretary of State his reasons therefor. 

Sec. 12. All vacancies in State or district offices, except mem- 
bers of the Legislature, shall be filled, unless otherwise pro- 
vided by law, by appointment of the Governor, which appoint- 
ment, if made during its session, shall be with the advice and 
consent of two thirds of the Senate present. If made during 
the recess of the Senate, the said appointee, or some other per- 
son to fill such vacancy, shall be nominated to the Senate during 
the first ten days of its session. If rejected, said office shall 
immediately become vacant, and the Governor shall, without 
delay, make further nominations, until a confirmation takes 
place. But should there be no confirmation during the session 
of the Senate, the Governor shall not thereafter appoint any 
person to fill such vacancy who has been rejected by the Sen- 
ate; but may appoint some other person to fill the vacancy until 
the next session of the Senate, or until the regular election to 
said office, should it sooner occur. Appointments to vacancies 
in offices elective by the people shall only continue until the first 
general election thereafter. 

Sec. 13. During the session of the Legislature the Governor 
shall reside where its sessions are held, and at all other times 
at the Seat of Government, except when, by act of Legislature, 
he may be required or authorized to reside elsewhere. 

Sec. 14. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of 
the Legislature shall be presented to the Governor for his ap- 
proval. If he approve he shall sign it; but if he disapprove it, 
he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it 
originated, which House shall enter the objections at large 
upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such 
reconsideration, two thirds of the members present agree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other 

Sec. XI. — I. In what cases has the Governor no pardoning power? 
2. Define " impeachment," " reprieves,' " forfeitures." 3. How may 
one convicted of treason be pardoned? 

Sec. XII. — I. How are vacancies in State and district offices filled? 

Sec. XIII. — I. Where must the Governor live? 

Sec. XIV. — i. State clearly three ways in which a bill may become 
a law. 2. Explain " enter at large upon its journal." 3. What is said 
of appropriation bills? 4. What if such a bill be passed only two days 
before the Legislature adjourns? 



364 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

House, by which likewise it shall be reconsidered ; and if ap- 
proved by two thirds of the members of that House, it shall 
become a law ; but in such cases the votes of both Houses shall 
be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members 
voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of 
each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by 
the Governor with his objections within ten days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall 
be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legis- 
lature, by its adjournment, prevent its return; in which case it 
shall be a law, unless he shall file the same, with his objections, 
in the office of the Secretary of State, and give notice thereof 
by public proclamation, within twenty days after such adjourn- 
ment. If any bill presented to the Governor contains several 
items of appropriation, he may object to one or more of such 
items, and approve the other portion of the bill. In such case 
he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement 
of the items to which he objects, and no item so objected to 
shall take efifect. If the Legislature be in session he shall trans- 
mit to the House in which the bill originated a copy of such 
statement, and the items objected to shall be separately con- 
sidered. If, on reconsideration, one or more of such items be 
approved by two thirds of the members present of each House, 
the same shall be part of the law, notwithstanding the objec- 
tions of the Governor. If any such bill, containing several 
items of appropriation, not haVing been presented to the Gov- 
ernor ten days (Sundays excepted) prior to adjournment, be in 
the hands of the Governor at the time of adjournment, he shall 
have twenty days from such adjournment within which to file 
objections to any items thereof and make proclamation of the 
same, and such item or items shall not take efifect. 

Sec. 15. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the con- 
currence of both Houses of the Legislature may be necessary, 
except on questions of adjournment, shall be presented to the 
Governor, and, before it shall take effect, shall be approved by 
him; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both Houses; 
and all the rules, provisions, and limitations shall apply thereto 
as prescribed in the last preceding section in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 16. There shall also be a Lieutenant-governor, who 
shall be chosen at every election for Governor by the same 
electors, in the same manner, continue in office the same time, 
and possess the same qualifications. The electors shall distin- 
guish for whom they vote as Governor and for whom as Lieu- 
tenant-governor. The Lieutenant-governor shall by virtue of 
his office be President of the Senate, and shall have, when in 

Sec. XV. — i. What has the Governor to do with the adjourning of 
the Legislature? 

Sec. XVI. — i. What are the qualifications of the Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor? 2. What are his duties? 3. What is meant by " Committee of 
the Whole"? 4. What is meant by "the casting vote"? 5. Under 
what circumstances may he become Governor? 6. Has any Governor of 
Texas been iniDeached? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 3^5 

Committee of the Whole, a right to debate and vote on all 
questions; and when the Senate is equally divided, to give the 
casting vote. In case of the death, resignation, removal from 
office, inability, or refusal of the Governor to serve, or of his 
impeachment or absence from the State, the Lieutenant-gov- 
ernor shall exercise the powers and authority appertaining to 
the office of Governor until another be chosen at the periodical 
election, and be duly qualified ; or until the Governor impeached, 
absent, or disabled, shall be acquitted, return, or his disability 
be removed. 

Sec. 17. If, during the vacancy in the office of Governor, the 
Lieutenant-governor should die, resign, refuse to serve, or be 
removed from office, or be unable to serve, or if he shall be 
impeached or absent from the State, the President of the Sen- 
ate, for the time being, shall, in like manner, administer the 
government until he shall be superseded by a Governor or 
Lieutenant-governor. The Lieutenant-governor shall, while he 
acts as President of the Senate, receive for his services the 
same compensation and mileage which shall be allowed to the 
members of the Senate, and no more ; and during the time he 
administers the government, as Governor, he shall receive in 
like manner the same compensation which the Governor would 
have received had he been employed in the duties of his office, 
and no more. The President, for the time being, of the Senate, 
shall, during the time he administers the government, receive 
in like manner the same compensation which the Governor 
would have received had he been employed in the duties of his 
office. 

Sec. 18. The Lieutenant-governor or President of the Sen- 
ate succeeding to the office of Governor shall, during the entire 
term to which he may succeed, be under all the restrictions and 
inhibitions imposed in this Constitution on the Governor. 

Sec. 19. There shall be a Seal of the State, which shall be 
kept by the Secretary of State, and used by him officially under 
the direction of the Governor. The Seal of the State shall be 
a star of five points, encircled by olive and live-oak branches, 
and the words, " The State of Texas.'' 

Sec. 20. All commissions shall be in the name and by the 
authority of the State of Texas, sealed with the State seal, 
signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 21. There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall be 
appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent 

Sec. XVII. — i. If both Governor and Lieutenant-governor die, who 
becomes Governor? 2. What salary does the Lieutenant-governor re- 



ceive 



Sec, XVIII. — i. Give the section. 2. Define " inhibitions." 

Sec. XIX.— I. Describe the seal of Texas. 2. Who keeps it? 3, 
Who may use it? ^ 

Sec. XX. — i. What is said of commissions? 2. What is the mean- 
ing of " attested "? 

Sec. XXI. — i. How is the Secretary of State chosen? 2. What are 
his duties? 3, What is his salary? 



366 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

of the Senate, and who shall continue in office during the term 
of service of the Governor. He shall authenticate the publica- 
tion of the laws, and keep a fair register of all official acts and 
proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, lay the 
same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relative thereto, 
before the Legislature, or either House thereof, and shall per- 
form such other duties as may be required of him by law. He 
shall receive for his services an annual salary of two thousand 
dollars, and no more. 

Sec. 22. The Attorney-general shall hold his office for two 
years, and until his successor is duly qualified. He shall repre- 
sent the State in all suits and pleas in the Supreme Court of 
the State in which the State may be a party, and shall espe- 
cially inquire into the charter rights of all private corporations, 
and from time to time, in the name of the State, take such 
action in the courts as may be proper and necessary to prevent 
any private corporation from exercising any power or demand- 
ing or collecting any species of taxes, tolls, freight, or wharf- 
age, not authorized by law. He shall whenever sufficient cause 
exists, seek a judicial forfeiture of such charters, unless other- 
wise expressly directed by law, and give legal advice in writing 
to the Governor and other Executive Officers, when requested 
by them, and perform such other duties as may be required by 
law. He shall reside ac the Seat of Government during his con- 
tinuance in office. He shall receive for his services an annual 
salary of two thousand dollars, and no more, besides such fees 
as may be prescribed by law ; provided, that the fees v/hich he 
may receive shall not amount to more than two thousand dol- 
lars annually. 

Sec. 2^. The Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Treasurer, 
and the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall each 
hold office for the term of two years, and until his successor 
is qualified ; receive an annual salary of two thousand and five 
hundred dollars, and no more ; reside at the capital of the State 
during his continuance in office ; and perform such duties as 
are or may be required of him by law. They and the Secretary 
of State shall not receive to their own use any fees, costs, or 
perquisites of office. All fees that may be payable by law for 
any service performed by any officer specified in this section, 
or in his office, shall be paid, when received, into the State 
treasury. 

Sec. 24. An account shall be kept by the officers of the Ex- 
ecutive Department, and by all officers and managers of State 
institutions, of all moneys and choses in action received and 
disbursed or otherwise disposed of by them, severally, from all 
sources, and for every service performed ; and a semi-annual 

Sec. XXTT.— r. How long does the Attorney-general hold office? 2. 
What are his duties? 3. What is the greatest salary he can receive? 

Sec. XXIII. — i. Give names and salaries of officers herein mentioned. 
2. What is done with their fees? 3, Define " perquisites." 

Sec. XXIV. — i. Give Section 24 in your own words. 2. Why is this 
necessary? 3. What is the punishment for perjury? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 367 

report thereof shall be made to the Governor under oath. The 
Governor may, at any time require iniormation in writing from 
any and all of said officers or managers, upon any subject re- 
lating to the duties, condition, management, and expenses of 
their respective offices and institutions, which information shall 
be required by the Governor under oath, and the Governor 
may also inspect their books, accounts, vouchers, and public 
funds ; and any officer or manager who, at any time, shall will- 
fully make a false report, or give false information, shall be 
guilty of perjury, and so adjudged and punished accordingly, 
and removed from office. 

Sec. 25. The Legislature shall pass efficient laws facilitating 
the investigation of breaches of trust and diity by all custo- 
dians of public funds, and providing for their suspension from 
office on reasonable cause shown, and for the appointment of 
temporary incumbents of their offices during such suspension. 

Sec. 26. _ The Governor, by and with the advice and consent 
of two thirds of the Senate, shall appoint a convenient number 
of notaries public for each county, who shall perform such du- 
ties as now are or may be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE V. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

Section i. The judicial power of this State shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, in Courts of Civil Appeals, in a Court 
of Criminal Appeals, in District Courts, in County Courts, in 
Commissioners' Courts, in Courts of Justices of the Peace, and 
in such other courts as may be provided by law. The Criminal 
District Court of Galveston and Harris counties shall continue 
with the district jurisdiction, and organization now existing by 
law until otherwise provided by law. The Legislature may 
establish such other courts as it may deem necessary, and pre- 
scribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof, and may con- 
form the jurisdiction of the district and other inferior courts 
thereto. 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice 
and two Associate Justices, any two of whom shall constitute a 
quorum, and the concurrence of two judges shall be necessary 
to the decision of a case. No person shall be eligible to the 
office of Chief Justice or Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court unless he be, at the timic of his election, a citizen of the 

Sec. XXV. — i. What are meant by "breaches of trust"? 2. Define 
** temporary incumbent." 

Sec. XXVI. — i. What are the duties of notaries public? 2. How are 
they appointed? 

Sec. I. — I. N^ame the six different courts. 2. What is said of crim- 
inal district courts? 

Sec. II. — I. Of what does the Supreme Court consist? 2. Name the 
qualifications of Chief and Associate Justices. 3. How are they chosen? 
4. Salary. 5. Length of term? 



368 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

United States and of this State, and unless he shall have at- 
tained the age of thirty years, and shall have been a practicing 
lawyer or a judge of a court, or such lawyer and judge to- 
gether, at least seven years. Said Chief Justice and Associate 
Justices shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at 
a general election, shall hold their offices six years or until 
their successors are elected and qualified, and shall each receive 
an annual salary of four thousand dollars until otherwise pro- 
vided by law. In case of a vacancy in the office of Chief Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court, the Governor shall fill the vacancy 
until the next general election for State officers, and at such 
general election the vacancy for the unexpired term shall be 
filled by election by the qualified voters of the State. The 
judges of the Supreme Court who may be in office at the timt 
this amendment takes effect shall continue in office until the 
expiration of their term of office under the present Constitu- 
tion, and until their successors are elected and qualified. 

Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction 
only, except as herein specified, which shall be co-extensive 
with the limits of the State. Its appellate jurisdiction shall ex- 
tend to questions of law arising in cases of which the Courts of 
Civil Appeals have appellate jurisdiction, under such restric- 
tions and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe. Until 
otherwise provided by law, the appellate jurisdiction of the Su- 
preme Court shall extend to questions of law arising in the 
cases in the Courts of Civil Appeals in which the judges of 
any Court of Civil Appeals may disagree, or where the several 
Courts of Civil Appeals may hold differently on the same ques- 
tion of law, or where a statute of the State is held void. The 
Supreme Court and the justices thereof shall have power to 
issue writs of habeas corpus as may be prescribed by law, and 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by law the said 
courts and the justices thereof may issue the writs of manda- 
mus, procedendo, certiorari, and such other writs as may be 
necessary to enforce its jurisdiction. The Legislature may con- 
fer original jurisdiction on the Supreme Court to issue writs 
of quo zvarranto and mandamus in such cases as may be speci- 
fied, except as against the Governor of the State. The Supreme 
Court shall also have power, upon affidavit or otherwise, as by 
the court may be determined, to ascertain such matters of fact 
as may be necessary to the prpper exercise of its jurisdiction. 
The Supreme Court shall sit for the transaction of business 
from the first Monday in October of each year until the last 
Saturday of June in the next year, inclusive, at the capital of 
the State. The Supreme Court shall appoint a clerk, who shall 
give bond in such manner as is now or may hereafter be re- 
quired by law, and he may hold his office for four years, and 

Sec. III. — I. Define " appellate jurisdiction." 2. What civil cases 
may come before this court? 3. Explain meaning of "interlocutory judg- 
ments." 4. What powers has the Supreme Court? 5. When and where 
does the Supreme Court meet? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 3<59 

shall be subject to removal by said court for good cause, en- 
tered of record on the minutes of said court, who shall receive 
such compensation as the Legislature may provide. 

Sec. 4. The Court of Criminal Appeals shall consist of three 
judges, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the 
concurrence of two judges shall be necessary to a decision of 
said court; said judges shall have the same qualifications and 
receive the same salaries as the judges of the Supreme Court. 
They shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at a 
general election, and shall hold their offices for a term of six 
years. In case of a vacancy in the office of a judge of the 
Court of Criminal Appeals, the Governor shall fill such vacancy 
by appointment for the unexpired term. The judges of the 
Court of Appeals who may be in office at the time when this 
amendment takes effect shall continue in office until the expira- 
tion of their term of office under the present Constitution and 
laws as judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals. 

Sec. 5. The Court of Criminal Appeals shall have appellate 
jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits of the State in all 
criminal cases of whatever grade, with such exceptions and 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. The Court 
of Criminal Appeals and the judges thereof shall have the 
power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and, under such regu- 
lations as may be prescribed by law, issue such writs as may be 
necessary to enforce its own jurisdiction. The Court of Crim- 
inal Appeals shall have power, upon affidavit or otherwise, to 
ascertain such matters of fact as may be necessary to the exer- 
cise of its jurisdiction. The Court of Criminal Appeals shall 
sit fox' the transaction of business from the first Monday in 
October to the last Saturday of June in each year, at the State 
capital and two other places (or the capital city), if the Legis- 
lature shall hereafter so provide. The Court of Crimmal Ap- 
peals shall appoint a clerk for each place at which, it may sit, 
and each clerk shall give bond in such manner as is now or may 
hereafter be required by law, and who shall hold his office for 
four years unless sooner removed by the court for good cause, 
entered of record on the minutes of said court. 

Sec. 6. The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable after 
the adoption of this amendment, divide the State into not less 
than two nor more than three supreme judicial districts, and 
thereafter into such additional districts as the increase of popu- 
lation and business may require, and shall establish a Court of 
Civil Appeals in each of said districts, which shall consist of a 
Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, who shall have the 

Sec. IV. — I. Give Section 4. 

Sec. V. — I. Who compose the Court of Appeals? 2, Who elect the 
Court of Appeals? 3. Name qualifications of the judges. 4. Term of 
office. 5. Salary. 

Sec. VI. — I. What criminal cases come before the Court of Appeals? 
2. What civil cases come before the Court of Appeals? 3. What pow- 
ers has the Court of Appeals? 4. When and where does the Court of 
Appeals meet? 



Z70 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

qualifications as herein prescribed for justices of the Supreme 
Court. Said Court of Civil Appeals shall have appellate juris- 
diction co-extensive with the limits of their respective districts, 
v^hich ohall extend to all civil cases of which the District Courts 
or County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction, under 
such restrictions and regulations as may be prescribed by law ; 
provided, that the decision of said courts shall be conclusive on 
all questions of fact brought before them on appeal or error. 
Each of said Courts of Civil Appeals shall hold its sessions at 
a place in its district to be designated by the Legislature, and 
at such time as may be prescribed by law. Said justices shall 
be elected by the qualified voters of their respective districts, 
at a general election, for a term of six years, and shall receive 
for their services the sum of three thousand five hundred dollars 
per annum until otherwise provided by law. Said courts shall 
have such other jurisdiction, original and appellate, as may be 
prescribed by law. Each Court o£ Civil Appeals shall appoint a 
clerk, in the same manner as the clerk of the Supreme Court, 
which clerk shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by 
law. Until the organization of the Courts of Civil Appeals and 
Criminal Appeals, as herein provided for, the jurisdiction, power, 
and organization and location of the Supreme Court, the Court 
of Appeals, and the Commission of Appeals shall continue as 
they were before the adoption of this amendment. All civil 
cases which may be pending in the Court of Appeals shall, as 
soon as practicable after the organization of the Courts of Civil 
Appeals be certified to and the records thereof transmitted to 
the proper Courts of Civil Appeals, to be decided by said courts. 
At the first session of the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal 
Appeals, aad such of the Courts of Civil Appeals which may be 
hereafter created under this Article after the first election of 
the judges of such courts under this amendment, the terms of 
office of the judges of each court shall "be divided into three 
classes, and the justices thereof shall draw for the different 
classes. Those who shall draw class No. i shall hold their 
offices two years, those drawing class No. 2 shall hold their 
offices four years, and those who may draw class No. 3 shall 
hold their offices for six years from the date of their election 
and until their successors are elected and qualified ; and there- 
after each of the said judges shall hold his office for six years, 
as provided in this Constitution. 

Sec. 7. The State shall be divided into as many judicial 
districts as may now or hereafter be provided by law, which 
may be increased or diminished by law. For each district there 
shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof, at a general 
election, a judge, who shall be a citizen of the United States and 
of this State ; who shall have been a practicing lawyer of this < 
State or a judge of a court in this State for four years next 

Sec. VII. — How many judicial districts has Texas? 2. Give the qual- 
ifications of a district judge, 3. Salary. 4. Length of term. 5. His 
duties. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 371 

preceding his election ; who shall have resided in the district in 
which he was elected for two years next preceding his election; 
who shall reside in his district during his term of office : who 
shall hold his office for the period of four years, and shall re- 
ceive for his services an annual salary of two thousand five 
hundred dollars, until otherwise changed by law. He shall hold 
the regular terms of his court at the county seat of each county 
in his district at least twice in each year, in such manner as 
may be prescribed by law. The Legislature shall have power 
by general or special laws to authorize the holding of special 
terms of the court, or the holding of more than two terms in 
any county, for the dispatch of business. The Legislature shall 
also provide for the holding of District Court when the judge 
thereof is absent, or is from any cause disabled or disqualified 
from presiding. The District Judges who may be in office when 
this amendment takes effect shall hold their offices until their 
respective terms shall expire under their present election or 
appointment. 

Sec. 8. The District Court shall have original jurisdiction in 
all criminal cases of the grade of felony; in all suits in behalf 
of the State to recover penalties, forfeitures, and escheats ; of 
all cases of divor^^e ; of all misdemeanors involving official mis- 
conduct ; of all suits to recover damages for slander or de- 
famation of character; of all suits for trial of title to land and 
for enforcement of liens thereon; of all suits for the trial of 
the right of property levied upon by virtue of any writ of ex- 
ecution, sequestration, or attachment when the property levied 
on shall be equal to or exceed in value five hundred dollars ; of 
all suits, complaints, or pleas whatever without regard to any 
distinction between law and equity, when the matter in con- 
troversy shall be valued at or amount to five hundred dollars, 
exclusive of interest; of contested elections; and said court and 
the judges thereof shall have power to issue writs of habeas 
corpus, mandamus, injunction, and certiorari, and all writs neces- 
sary to enforce their jurisdiction. The District Court shall 
have appellate jurisdiction and general control in probate mat- 
ters over the County Court established in each county, for ap- 
pointing guardians, granting letters testamentary and of ad- 
ministration, probating wills, for settling the accounts of ex- 
ecutors, administrators, and guardians, and for the transaction 
of all business appertaining to estates; and original jurisdiction 
and general control over executors, administrators, guardians, 
and minors, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
law. The District Court shall have appellate jurisdiction and 
general supervisory control over the County -Commissioners' 
Court, with such exceptions and under such regulations as may 
be prescribed by law; and shall have general original jurisdic- 
tion oyer all causes of action whatever for which a remedy or 
jurisdiction is not provided by law or this Constitution, and 
such other jurisdiction, original and appellate, as may be pro- 
vided by law. 



372 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 9. There shall be a clerk for the District Court of each 
county, who shall be elected by the qualified voters for the 
State and county officers, and who shall hold his office for two 
years, subject to removal by information, or by indictment of a 
grand jury, and conviction by a petit jury. In case of vacancy 
the judge of the District Court shall have the power to appoint 
a clerk, who shall hold until the office can be filled by election. 

Sec. 10. In the trial of all causes in the District Courts, the 
plaintiff or defendant shall, upon application made in open 
:ourt, have the right of trial by jury; but no jury shall be im- 
paneled in any civil case unless demanded by a party to the 
case, and a jury fee be paid by the party demanding a jury, for 
such sum, and with such exceptions as may be prescribed by 
the Legislature. 

Sec. II. No judge shall sit in any case wherein he may be 
interested, or when either of the parties may be connected 
with him either by affinity or consangtiinity, within such a 
degree as may be prescribed by law, or when he shall have 
been counsel in the case. When the Supreme Court, the Court 
of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Civil Appeals, or any mem- 
ber of either, shall be thus disqualified to hear and determine 
any case or cases in said court, the same shall be certified to 
the Governor of the State, who shall immediately commission 
the requisite number of persons learned in the law, for the 
trial and determination of such cause or causes. When a judge 
of the District Court is disqualified by any of the causes above 
stated, the parties may, by consent, appoint a proper person to 
try said case ; or, upon their failing to do so, a competent person 
may be appointed to try the same in the county where it is 
pending, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. And 
the District Judges may exchange districts, or hold courts for 
each other, when they may deem it expedient, and shall do so 
when required by law. The disqualification of judges of in- 
ferior tribunals shall be remedied, and vacancies in their offices 
filled as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 12. All judges of courts of this State [shall], by virtue 
of their office, be conservators of the peace throughout the 
State. The style of all writs and process shall be " The State 
of Texas." All prosecutions shall be carried on in the name 
and by the authority of " The State of Texas," and shall con- 
clude " against the peace and dignity of the State." 

Sec. IX. — I. How is the clerk of the District Court selected. 2. How 
may he be removed? 

Sec. X. — I. When is a civil case tried in a District Court before a 
jury? 

Sec. XT. — i. In what cases is a judge forbidden to preside? 2. What 
if a majority of the Supreme or Appellate Court be disqualified? 3. What 
is done if a judge of the District Court be thus disqualified? 

Sec. XII. — I. What is meant by "conservators of the peace"? 2. 
What shall be the style of all writs? 

Sec. XII. — I. Of how many men does a jury consist. 2. What is 
said of a grand jury? 3. Under what circumstances may a part of a 
jury render a verdict? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 373 

Sec. 13. Grand and petit juries in the District Courts shall 
be composed of twelve men; hut nine members of a grand jury 
shall be a quorum to transact business and present bills. In 
trials of civil cases, and in trials of criminal cases below the 
grade of felony, in the District Courts, nine members of the 
jury, concurring, may render a verdict; but when the verdict 
shall be rendered by less than the whole number, it shall be 
signed by every member of the jury concurring in it. When, 
pending the trial of any case, one or more jurors, not exceed- 
ing three, may die, or be disabled from sitting, the remainder 
of the jury shall have the power to render the verdict; pro- 
vided, that the Legislature may change or modify the rule au- 
thorizing less than the whole number of the jury to render a 
verdict. 

Sec. 14. The judicial districts in this State and the time of 
holding the courts therein are fixed by ordinance forming part of 
this Constitution, until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 15. There shall be established in each county in this 
State a County Court, which shall be a court of record ; and 
there shall be elected in each county, by the qualified voters, a 
County Judge, who shall be well informed in the law of the 
State ; shall be a conservator of the peace, and shall hold his 
office for two years ; and until his successor shall be elected and 
qualified. He shall receive as a compensation for his services 
such fees and perquisites as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 16. The County Court shall have original jurisdiction 
of all misdemeanors, of which exclusive original jurisdiction 
is not given to the Justice's Court, as the same is now or may 
hereafter be prescribed by law, and when the fine to be im- 
posed shall exceed two hundred dollars ; and they shall have 
exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil cases when the mat- 
ter in controversy shall exceed in value two hundred dollars, 
and not exceed five hundred dollars, exclusive of interest; and 
concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court, when the mat- 
ter in controversy shall exceed five hundred dollars and not 
exceed one thousand dollars, exclusive of interest; but shall 
not have jurisdiction of suits for the recovery of land. They 
shall have appellate jurisdiction in cases, civil and criminal, of 
which Justice's Courts have original jurisdiction, but of such 
civil cases only when the judgment of the court appealed from 
shall exceed twenty dollars, exclusive of cost, under such regu- 
lations as may be prescribed by law. In all appeals from Jus- 
tice's Courts, there shall be a trial dc novo in the County Court, 
and appeals may be prosecuted from the final judgment rendered 
in such cases by the County Court, as well as all cases, civil 
and criminal, of which the County Court has exclusive or con- 

Sec. XV. — I. What is said of the County Judge? 

Sec. XVI. — i. In what cases has the County Court originial jurisdic- 
tion? - Concurrent jurisdiction? 3. Appellate jurisdiction? 4. What 
is said of appeals from the Justice's Courts? 5. When can one appeal 
from the County Court tp the Court of Appeals? 6. Name some of the 
duties of the County Court. 



374 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

current or original jurisdiction — of civil appeals in civil cases 
to the Court of Civil Appeals, and in such criminal cases to 
the Court of Criminal Appeals, with such exceptions and under 
such regulations as may be prescribed by law. The County 
Court shall have the general jurisdiction of a Probate Court. 
They shall probate wills, appoint guardians of minors, idiots, 
lunatics, persons non compos mentis, and common drunkards, 
grant letters testamentary and of administration, settle accounts 
of executors, administrators, and guardians, transact all business 
appertaining to the estates of deceased persons, minors, idiots, 
lunatics, persons non compos mentis, and common drunkards, 
including the settlement, partition, and distribution of estates 
of deceased persons, and to apprentice minors, as provided 
by law: and the County Court, or judge thereof, shall have 
power to issue writs of injunction, mandamus, and all writs 
necessary to the enforcement of the jurisdiction of said court: 
and to issue writs of habeas corpus in cases where the offense 
charged is within the jurisdiction of the County Court, or any 
other court or tribunal inferior to said court. The County 
Court shall not have criminal jurisdiction in any county where 
there is a Criminal District Court, unless expressly conferred 
by law ; and in such counties appeals from Justice's Courts 
and other inferior courts and tribunals, in criminal cases, shall 
be to the Criminal District Court, under such regulations as 
may be prescribed by law, and in all such cases an appeal shall 
lie from such District Court to the Court of Criminal Appeals. 
When the judge of the County Court is disqualified in any case 
pending in the County Court, the parties interested may by 
consent appoint a proper person to try said case, or,jipon their 
failing to do so, a competent person may be appointed to try 
the same in the county where it is pending, in such manner as 
may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 17. The County Court shall hold a term for civil business 
at least once in every two months, and shall dispose of probate 
business, either in term-time or vacation, as may be provided 
by law ; and said court shall hold a term for criminal business 
once in every month, as may be provided by law. Prosecutions 
may be commenced in said court by information filed by the 
County Attorney, or by affidavit, as may be provided by law. 
Grand juries impaneled in the District Courts shall inquire into 
misdemeanors, and all indictments therefor returned into the 
District Courts shall forthwith be certified to the County Courts, 
or other inferior courts having jurisdiction to try them, for 
trial ; and if such indictment be quashed in the County or other 
inferior court, the person charged shall not be discharged if' 
there is probable cause of guilt, but may be held by such court 
or magistrate to answer information or affidavit. A jury in the 
County Court shall consist of six men ; but no jury shall be 

Sec. XVII. — i. How often does the County Court hold a term? 2. 
How many jurors are required in the County Court? 3. When may a 
jury be impaneled? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 375 

impaneled to try a civil case, unless demanded by one of the 
parties, who shall pay such jury fee therefor, in advance, as 
may be prescribed by lavi', unless he makes affidavit that he is 
unable to pay the same. 

Sec. i8. Each organized county in the State, nowr or here- 
after existing, shall be divided from time to time, for the con- 
venience of the people into precincts, not less than four and not 
more than eight. The present County Courts shall make the 
first division. Subsequent divisions shall be made by the Com- 
missioners' Court, provided for by this Constitution. In each 
such precinct there shall be elected, at each biennial election, 
one Justice of the Peace and one Constable, each of whom 
shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor shall 
be elected and qualified ; provided, that in any precinct in which 
there may be a city of eight thousand or more inhabitants, there 
shall be elected two Justices of the Peace. Each county shall 
in like manner be divided into four commissioners' precincts, 
in each of which there shall be elected, by the qualified voters 
thereof, one County Commissioner, who shall hold his office 
for two years, and until his successor shall be elected and 
qualified. The County Commissioners so chosen, with the County 
Judge, as presiding officer, shall compose the County Com- 
missioners* Court, which shall exercise such powers and juris- 
diction over all county business as is conferred by this Con- 
stitution and the laws of this State, as may be hereafter pre- 
scribed. 

Sec. 19. Justices of the peace shall have jurisdiction in crim- 
inal matters of all cases where the penalty or fine to be imposed 
by law may not be more than for two hundred dollars, and in 
civil matters of all cases where the amount in controversy is 
two hundred dollars or less, exclusive of interest, of which 
exclusive original jurisdiction is not given t the District or 
County Courts; and such other jurisdiction, criminal and civil, 
as may be provided by law, under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by law ; and appeals to the County Courts shall be 
allowed in all cases decided in Justice's Courts where the judg- 
ment is for more tha'i twenty dollars, exclusive of costs, and 
in all criminal cases, under such regulations, as may be pre- 
scribed by law. And the Justices of the Peace shall be ex-ofhcio 
notaries public ; and they shall hold their courts at such ti'^ies 
and olaces as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 20. There shall be elected for each county, by the quali- 
fied voters, a County Clerk, who shall hold his office for two 
years, who shall be Clerk of the County and Commissioners' 
Courts and Recorder of the county, whose duties, perquisites, 
and fees of office shall be prescribed by the Legislature, and a va- 
cancy in whose office shall be filled by the Commissioners' Court, 

Sec. XVIII. — i. How many precincts does your county contain? 2. 
How are these precincts organized? 3. Name the officers of the precincts. 
Sec. XIX. — i. Over what cases has a Justice of Peace jurisdiction? 
Sec. XX. — i. What is said of the County Cierk? 



376 CONSTITUTION OF TFXAS 

until the next general election for county and State officers; 
provided, that in counties having a population of less than eight 
thousand persons there may be an election of a single clerk, 
who shall perform the duties of District and County Clerks. 

Sec. 21. A County Attorney, for counties in which there is 
not a resident Criminal District Attorney, shall be elected by 
the qualified voters of each county, who shall be commissioned 
by the Governor, and hold his office for the term of two years. 
In case of vacancy, the Commissioners' Court of the county 
shall have power to appoint a County Attorney until the next 
general election. The County Attorneys shall represent the State 
in all cases in the District and inferior courts in their respective 
counties ; but if anv county shall be included in a district in 
which there shall be a District Attorney, the respective duties 
of District Attorneys and County Attorneys shall in such coun- 
ties be regulated by the Legislature. The Legislature may 
provide for the election of District Attorneys in such districts 
as may be deemed necessary, and make provision for the com- 
pensation of District Attorneys and County Attorneys ; provided, 
District Attorneys shall receive an annual salary of five hundred 
dollars, to be paid by the State, and such fees, commissions, 
and perquisites as may be provided by law. County Attorneys 
shall receive as compensation only such fees, commissions, and 
perquisites as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 22. The Legislature shall have power, by local or gen- 
eral law, to increase, diminish, or change the civil and criminal 
Jurisdiction of County Courts ; and in cases of any such change 
of jurisdiction the Legislature shall also conform the jurisdiction 
of the other courts to such change. 

Sec. 23. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of each 
county a Sheriff, who shall hold his office for the term of two 
years, whose duties, and perquisites, and fees of office shall 
be prescribed by the Legislature, and vacancies in whose office 
shall be filled by the Commissioners' Court until the next gen- 
eral election for county or State officers. 

Sec. 24. County Judges, County Attorneys, Clerks of the Dis- 
trict and County Courts, Justices of the Peace, Constables, and 
other county officers, may be removed by the judges of the 
District Courts for incompetency, offi-cial misconduct, habitual 
drunkenness, or other causes defined by law, upon the cause 
therefor being set forth in writing, and the finding of its truth 
by a jury. 

Sec. 25. The Supreme Court shall have power to make and 
establish rules of procedure, not inconsistent with the laws of 
the State, for the government of said court, and the other courts 
of the State, to expedite the dispatch of business therein. 

Sec. 26. The State shall have no right of appeal in criminal 
cases. 

Sec. XXI. — i. What counties have County Attorneys? 2. How is the 
County Attorney chosen? 3. His duties? 4. What is said of District 
Attorneys ? 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 377 

Sec. t.^. The Legislature shall, at its first session, provide for 
the transfer of all business, civil and crirninal, pending- in Dis- 
trict Co.urts, over which jurisdiction is given by this Constitu- 
tion to the County Courts, or other inferior courts, to such 
County or inferior courts, and for the trial or disposition of 
all such causes by such County or other inferior courts. 

Sec. 28. Vacancies in the office of judges of the Supreme 
Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Civil Ap- 
peals, and District Courts, shall be filled by the Governor unti? 
the next succeeding general election ; and vacancies in the office 
of County Judge, and Justices of the Peace, shall be filled b) 
the Commissioners' Court, until the next general election foi 
such offices. 

Sec. 29. The County Court shall hold at least four terms 
for both civil and criminal business annually, as may be pro- 
vided by the Legislature, or by the Commissioners' Court of the 
county under authority of" law, and such other terms each year 
as may be fixed by the Commissioners' Court ; provided, the 
Commissioners' Court of any county having fixed the time and 
number of terms of the County Court, shall not change the same 
again till the expiration of on^ year. Said court shall dispose 
of probate business either in term-time or vacation, under such 
regulation as may be prescribed by law. Prosecutions may be 
commenced in said courts in such manner as is, or may be, 
provided by law, and a jury therein shall consist of six men. 
Until otherwise provided, the terms of the County Court shall 
be held on the first Mondays in February, May, August, and 
November, and may rem.ain in session three weeks. 

ARTICLE VI. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Section i. The following classes of persons shall not be 
allowed to vote in this State, to-wit : 

First. — Persons under twenty-one years of age. 

Second. — Idiots and lunatics. 

Third. — All paupers supported by any county. 

Fourth. — All persons convicted of any felony, subject to such 
exceptions as the Legislature may make. 

Fifth. — All soldiers, marines, and seamen employed in the serv- 
ice of the army or navy of the United States. 

Sec. 2. Every male person subject to none of the foregoing 
disqualifications, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one 
years, and who shall be a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall have resided in this State one year next preceding an 
election, and the last six months within the district or county 
in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector ; 
and every male person of foreign birth, subject to none of the 
foregoing disqualifications, who, at any time before an electi n, 
shall have declared his intention to become a citizen of the 



378 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

United States in accordance with the Federal Naturalization 
Laws, and shall have resided in this State one year next pre- 
ceding such election, and the last six months in the county in 
which he offers to vote, shall also be deemed a qualified elector; 
and all electors shall vote in the election precinct of their resi- 
dence; provided, that electors living in any unorganized county 
may vote at any election precinct in the county to which such 
county is attached for judicial purposes. [See amendment, p. 
402.] 

Sec. 3. All qualified electors of the State, as herein described, 
who shall have resided for six months immediately preceding an 
election within the limits of any city or corporate town, shall 
have the right to vote for Mayor and all other elective offi- 
cers ; but in all elections to determine expenditure of money or 
assumption of debt, only those shall be qualified to vote who pay 
taxes on property in said city or incorporated town ; provided, 
that no poll tax for the payment of debts thus incurred shall be 
levied upon the persons debarred from voting in relation thereto. 

Sec. 4. In all elections by the people the vote shall be by 
ballot, and the Legislature shall provide for the numbering of 
tickets, and make such other regulations as may be necessary 
to detect and punish fraud, and preserve the purity of the ballot 
box ; and the Legislature may provide by law for the registration 
of all voters in all cities containing a population of ten thousand 
inhabitants or more. 

Sec. 5. Voters shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their at- 
tendance at elections, and in going to and returning therefrom. 

ARTICLE VII. 

EDUCATION, — THE PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS. 

Section i. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to 
the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall 
be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and 
make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of 
an efficient system of public free schools. 

Sec. 2. Ail funds, lands, and other property heretofore set 
apart and appropriated for the support of public schools, all the 
alternate sections of land reserved by the State out of grants 
heretofore made, or that may hereafter be made, to railroads, or 
other corporations, of any nature whatsoever; one half of the 
public domain of the State; and all sums of money that may 
come to the State from the sale of any portion of the same, 
shall constitute a perpetual school fund. 

Sec. 3. One fourth of the revenue derived from the State 
occupation of taxes, and a poll tax of one dollar on every male 
inhabitant of this State between the ages of twenty-one and 
sixty years, shall be set apart annually for the benefit of the 
public free schools, and in addition thereto there shall be levied 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 379 

and collected an annual ad valorem State tax of such an amount, 
not to exceed twenty cents on the one hundred dollars' valua- 
tion, as with the available school fund arising from all other 
sources will be sufficient to support and maintain the public 
free schools of this State for a period of not less than six months 
ill each year ; and the Legislature may also provide for the 
formation of school districts within all or any of the counties 
of this State, by general or special law, without the local notice 
required in other cases of special legislation, and may authorize 
an additional annual ad valorem tax to be levied and collected 
within such school districts for the further maintenance of public 
free schools and the erection of school buildings therein ; pro- 
vided, that two-thirds of the qualified property tax-paying voters 
of the district, voting at an election to be held for that purpose, 
shall vote such tax, not to exceed, in any one year, twenty cents 
on the one hundred dollars' valuation of the property subject 
ito taxation in such district, but the limitation upon the amount 
of district tax herein authorized shall not apply to incorporated 
cities or towns constitutmg separate and independent school dis- 
tricts. 

Sec. 4. The lands herein set apart for the public free school 
fund shall be sold under such regulations, at such times, and on 
such terms, as may be prescribed by law ; and the Legislature 
shall not have power to grant any relief to purchasers thereof. 
The Comptroller shall invest the proceeds of such sales, and of 
those heretofore made, as may be directed by the Board of 
Education, herein provided for, in the bonds of the United 
States, the State of Texas, or counties in said State, or in such 
other securities and under such restrictions as may be prescribed 
by law ; and the State shall be responsible for all investments. 

Sec. 5. The principal of all bonds, and other funds, and 
the principal arising from the sale of the lands hereinbefore set 
apart to said school fund, shall be the permanent school fund ; 
and all the interest derivable therefrom, and the taxes herein 
authorized and levied, shall be the available school fund, to 
which the Legislature may add not exceeding one per cent, 
annually of the total value of the permanent school fund ; such 
value to be ascertained by the Board of Education until other- 
wise provided by law ; and the available school fund shall be 
applied annually to the support of the public free schools. And 
no law shall ever be enacted appropriating any part of the 
permanent or available school fund to any other purpose what- 
ever ; nor shall the same or any part thereof ever be appro- 
priated to, or used for the support of, any sectarian school ; and 
the available school fund herein provided shall be distributed 
to the several counties according to their scholastic population, 
and applied in such manner as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 6. All lands heretofore or hereafter granted to the sev- 
eral counties of this State for educational purposes are of right 
the property of said counties, respectively, to which they were 
granted, and title thereto is vested in said counties, and no 



380 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

adverse possession or limitation shall ever be available against 
the title of any county. Each county may sell or dispose of its 
lands, in whole or in part, in manner to be provided by the 
Commissioners' Court of the county. Actual settlers, residing 
on said lands, shall be protected in the prior right of purchasing 
the same to the extent of their settlement, not to exceed one 
hundred and sixty acres, at the price fixed by said court, which 
price shall not include the value of existing improvements made 
thereon by such settlers. Said lands, and the proceeds thereof, 
when sold, shall be held by said counties alone, as a trust for the 
benefit of public schools therein ; said proceeds to be invested in 
bonds of the United States, the State of Texas, or counties in 
said State, or in such other securities and under such restrictions 
as may be prescribed by law ; and the counties shall be responsi- 
ble for all investments ; the interest thereon, and other revenue, 
except the principal, shall be available fund. 

Sec. 7. Separate schools shall be provided for the white and 
colored children, and impartial provision shall be made for 
both. 

Sec. 8. The Governor, Comptroller, and Secretary of State 
shall constitute a Board of Education, who shall distribute said 
funds to the several counties, and perform such other duties con- 
cerning public schools as may be prescribed by law. 

ASYLUMS. 

Sec. 9. All lands heretofore granted for the benefit of the 
Lunatic, Blind, Deaf and Dimib, and Orphan Asylums, together 
with such donations as may have been or may hereafter be made 
to either of them, respectively, as indicated in the several grants, 
are hereby set apart to provide a permanent fund for the sup- 
port, maintenance, and improvement of said asylums. And the 
Legislature may provide for the sale of the lands and the invest- 
ment of the proceeds in manner as provided for the sale and 
investment of school lands in Section 4 of this Article. 

UNIVERSITY. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, estab- 
lish, organize, and provide for the maintenance, support, and 
direction of a university of the first class, to be located by a 
vote of the people of this State, and styled " The University 
of Texas," for the promotion of literature, and the arts and 
sciences, including an agricultural and mechanical department. 

Sec. II. In order to enable the Legislature to perform the 
duties set forth in the foregoing section, it is hereby declared 
that all lands and other property heretofore set apart and 
appropriated for the establishment and maintenance of " The 
University of Texas," together with all the proceeds of sales of 
rhe same, heretofore made or hereafter to be made and all grants, 
donations, and appropriations that may hereafter be made by the 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 381 

the State of Texas, or from any other source, shall constitute and 
become a permanent university fund. And the same as realized 
and received into -the treasury of the State (together with such 
sums belonging to the fund, as may now be in the" treasury) 
shall be invested in bonds of the State of Texas, if the same 
can be obtained ; if not, then in United States bonds ; and the 
interest accruing thereon shall be subject to appropriation by the 
Legislature to accomplish the purpose declared in the foregoing 
section ; provided, that the one tenth of the alternate sections of 
the lands granted to railroads, reserved by the State, which 
were set apart and appropriated to the establishment of " The 
University of Texas," by an act of the Legislature of February 
II, 1858, entitled "An act to establish 'The University -of 
Texas,' " shall not be included in or constitute a part of the per- 
manent university fund. 

Sec. 12. The land herein set apart to the university fund shall 
be sold under such regulations, at such times, and on such 
terms, as may be provided by law; and the Legislature shall 
provide for the prompt collection, at maturity, of all debts due 
on account of university lands, heretofore sold, or that may 
hereafter be sold, and shall in neither event have the power to 
grant relief to the purchasers. 

Sec. 13. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, 
established by an act of the Legislature, passed April 17, 1871, 
located in the county of Brazos, is hereby made and .constituted 
a branch of the University of Texas, for instruction in agricul- 
ture, the mechanic arts, and the natural sciences connected there- 
with. And the Legislature shall, at its next session, make an 
appropriation, not to exceed forty thousand dollars, for the con- 
struction and completion of the buildings and improvements, 
and for providing the furniture necessary to put said college in 
immediate and successful operation. 

Sec. 14. The Legislature shall also, when deemed practicable, 
establish and provide for the maintenance of a college or branch 
university for the instruction of the colored youths of the State, 
to be located by a vote of the people ; provided, that no tax shall 
be levied, and no money appropriated out of the general revenue, 
either for this purpose or for the establishment and erection of 
the buildings of the University of Texas. 

Sec. 15. In addition to the lands heretofore granted to the 
University of Texas, there is hereby set apart and appropri- 
ated, for the endowment, maintenance, and support of said 
University and its branches, one million acres of the unappro- 
priated public domain of the State, to be designated and sur- 
veyed as may be provided by law; and said lands shall be 
sold under the same regulations, and the proceeds invested in 
the same manner, as is provided for the sale and investment 
of the permanent university fund; and the Legislature shall 
not have power to grant any relief to the purchasers of said 
lands. 



382 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 



ARTICLE VIII. 

TAXATION AND REVENUE. 

Section i. Taxation shall be equal and uniform. All prop- 
erty in this State, whether owned by natural persons or cor- 
porations, other than municipal, shall be taxed in proportion to 
its value, which shall be ascertained as may be provided by 
law. The Legislature may impose a poll tax. It may also 
impose occupation taxes, both upon natural persons and upon 
corporations, other than municipal, doing any business in this 
State. It may also tax incomes of both natural persons and 
corporations, other than municipal, except that persons engaged 
in mechanical and agricultural pursuits shall never be required 
to pay an occupation tax ; provided, that two hundred and fifty 
dollars' worth of household and kitchen furniture, belonging to 
each family in this State, shall be exempt from taxation ; and 
provided further, that the occupation tax levied by any county, 
city, or town, for any year, on persons or corporations pursuing 
any profession or business, shall not exceed one half of the tax 
levied by the State for the same period on such profession or 
business. 

Sec. 2. All occupation taxes shall be equal and uniform upon 
the same class of subjects within the limits of the authority levy- 
ing the tax ; but the Legislature may, by general laws, exempt 
from taxation public property used for public purposes ; actual 
places of religious worship; places of burial not held for pri- 
vate or corporate profit ; all buildings used exclusively and owned 
by persons or associations of persons for school purposes (and 
the necessary furniture of all schools), and institutions of purely 
public charity ; and all laws exempting property from taxation, 
other than the property above mentioned, shall be void. 

Sec. 3. Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws 
and for public purposes only. 

Sec. 4. The power to tax corporations and corporate property 
shall not be surrendered or suspended by act of the Legislature, 
by any contract or grant to which the State shall be a party. 

Sec. 5. All property of railroad companies, of whatever de- 
scription, lying or being within the limits of any city or incor- 
porated town within this State, shall bear its proportionate share 
of municipal taxation; and if any such property shall not have 
been heretofore rendered, the authorities of the city or town 
within which it lies shall have power to require its rendition, 
and collect the usual municipal tax thereon, as on other property 
lying within said municipality. 

Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
pursuance of specific appropriations made by law ; nor shall 
any appropriation of money be made for a longer term than two 
years, except by the first Legislature to assemble under this 
Constitution, which may make the necessary appropriations to 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 383 

carry on the government until the assemblage of the Sixteenth 
Legislature. 

Sec. 7. The Legislature shall not have power to borrow, or 
in any manner divert from its purpose, any special fund that 
may, or ought to, come into the treasury; and shall make it 
penal for any person or persons to borrow, withhold, or in any 
manner to divert from its purpose any special fund, or any part 
hereof. 

Sec. 8. All property of railroad companies shall be assessed, 
and the taxes collected in the several counties in which said 
property is situated, including so much of the road-bed and fix- 
tures as shall be in each county. The rolling stock may be as- 
sessed in gross in the county where the principal office of the 
company is located, and the county tax paid upon it shall be 
apportioned by the Comptroller, in proportion to the distance such 
road may run through any such county, among the several coun- 
ties through which the road passes, as a part of their tax as- 
sets. 

Sec. 9. The State tax on property exclusive of the tax neces- 
sary to pay the public debt, and of the taxes provided for the 
benefit of public free schools, shall never exceed thirty-five 
cents on the one hundred dollars' valuation ; and no county, city, 
or town shall levy more than twenty-five cents for city or 
county purposes, and not exceed fifteen cents for roads and 
bridges, on the one hundred dollars' valuation, except for the 
payment of debts incurred prior to the adoption of this Amend- 
ment, and for the erection of public buildings, street, sewers, 
and other permanent improvements, not to exceed twenty-five 
cents on the one hundred dollars' valuation in any one year, and 
except as is in this Constitution otherwise provided, and the 
Legislature may also authorize an additional ad valorem tax 
to be levied and collected for the further maintenance of the 
public roads; provided, that a majority of the qualified property 
tax-paying voters of the county, voting at an election to be held 
for that purpose, shall vote such tax, not to exceed fifteen cents 
on the one hundred dollars' valuation of the property subject 
to taxation in such county. And the Legislature may pass local 
laws for the maintenance of public roads and highways without 
the local notice required for special or local laws. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall have no power to release the 
inhabitants of, or property in, any county, city, or town from 
the payment of taxes levied for State or county purposes, unless 
in case of great public calamity in any such county, city, or 
town, when such release may be made by a vote of two thirds 
of each House of the Legislature. 

_ Sec. II. All property, whether owned by persons or corpora- 
tions, shall be assessed for taxation, and the taxes paid in the 
county where situated, but the Legislature may, by a two-thirds 
vote, authorize the payment of taxes of non-residents of counties 
to be mad-e at the office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts. 
And all lands and other property not rendered for taxation by 



384 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

the owner thereof shall be assessed at its fair value by the 
proper officer. 

Sec. 12. All property subject to taxation in and owned by 
residents of unorganized counties, shall be assessed and the taxes 
thereon paid in the counties to which such unorganized countiei 
shall be attached for judicial purposes; and lands lying in and 
owned by non-residents of unorganized counties, and lands lying 
in the territory, not laid off into counties, shall be assessed and 
the taxes thereon collected at the office of the Comptroller of 
the State. 

Sec. 13. Provision shall be made by the first Legislature for 
the speedy sale of a sufficient portion of all lands and other 
property for the taxes due thereon, and every year thereafter 
for the sale of all lands and other property upon which the taxes 
have not been paid, and the deed of conveyance to the purchaser 
for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to vest 
a good and perfect title in the purchaser thereof, subject to be 
impeached only for actual fraud; provided, that the former owner 
shall, within two years from date of purchaser's deed, have the 
right to redeem the land upon the payment of double the amount 
of money paid for the land. 

Sec. 14. There shall be elected by the qualified electors of 
each county, at the same time and under the same law regulating 
the election of State and county officers, an assessor of taxes, 
who shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor is 
elected and qualified. 

Sec. 15. The annual assessment made upon landed property 
shall be a special lien thereon, and all property, both real and 
personal, belonging to any delinquent tax-payer, shall be liable 
to seizure and sale for the payment of all the taxes and penal- 
ties due by such delinquent; and such property may be sold 
for the payment of the taxes and penalties due by such de- 
linquent, under such regulations as the Legislature may pro- 
vide. 

Sec. 16. The sheriff of each county, in addition to his other 
duties, shall be the collector of taxes therefor. ^ But in counties 
having ten thousand inhabitants, to be determined by the last 
preceding census of the United States, a collector of taxes shall 
be elected to hold office for two years, and until his successor 
shall be elected and qualified. 

Sec. 17. The specification of the objects and subjects of taxa- 
tion shall not deprive the Legislature of the power to require 
other subjects or objects to be taxed in such manner as may 
be consistent with the principles of taxation fixed in this Con- 
stitution. 

Sec. 18. The Legislature shall provide for equalizing, as near 
as may be, the valuation of all property subject to or rendered 
for taxation (the County Commissioners' Court to constitute 
a board of equalization) ; and may also provide for the classifica- 
tion of all lands, with reference to their value in the several 
counties. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 3^5 

Sec. 19. Farm products in the hands of the producer, and 
family suppHes for home and farm Use, are exempt from all 
taxation until otherwise directed by a two-thirds vote of all the 
members elect to both Houses of the Legislature. 

ARTICLE IX. 

COUNTIES. 

Section I. The Legislature shall have power to create coun- 
ties for the convenience of the people, subject to the following 
provisions : 

First.— In the territory of the State exterior to all counties 
now existing, no new counties shall be created with a less area 
than nine hundred square miles, in a square form, unless pre- 
vented by pre-existing boundary lines. Should the State lines 
render this impracticable in border counties, the area may be 
less. The territory referred to may, at any time, in v^rhole or 
in part, be divided into counties in advance of population, and 
attached, for judicial and land-surveying purposes, to the most 
convenient organized county or counties. 

Second. — Within the territory of any county or counties now 
existing, no new county shall be created with a less area than 
seven hundred square miles, nor shall any such county now 
existing be reduced to a less area than seven hundred square 
miles. No new counties shall be created so as to approach 
nearer than twelve miles of the county seat of any county from 
which it may, in whole or in part, be taken. Counties of a 
less area than nine hundred, but of seven hundred or more 
square miles, within counties now existing, may be created by 
a two-thirds vote of each House of Legislature, taken by yeas 
and nays, and entered on the journals. Any county now exist- 
ing may be reduced to an area of not less than seven hundred 
square miles, by a like two-thirds vote. When any part of a 
county is stricken off and attached to or created into another 
county, the part stricken off shall be holden for and obliged 
+0 pay iti proportion of all the liabilities then existing of the 
ounty from which it was taken, in such manner as may be 
rescribed by law. 

Third. — No part of any existing county shall be detached from 
ic and attached to another existing county until the proposition 
for such change shall have been submitted, in such manner as 
may be provided by law, to a vote of the electors of both 
counties, and shall have received a majority of those voting on 
the question in each. 

COUNTY SEATS, 

Sec. 2. The Legislature shall pass laws regulating the man- 
gier of removing county seats, but no county seat situated within 
five miles of the geographical center of the county shall be 



386 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

removed, except lay a vote of two thirds of all the electors 
voting on the subject. A majority of such electors, however, 
voting at such election, may remove a county seat from a point 
more than five miles from the geographical center of the county 
to a point within five miles of such center, in either case the 
center to be determined by a certificate from the Commissioner 
of the General Land Office. 

ARTICLE X. 

RAILROADS. 

Section i. Any railroad corporation or association, organ- 
ized under the law for the purpose, shall have the right to 
construct and operate a railroad between any points within this 
State, and to connect at the State line with railroads of other 
States. Every railroad company shall have the right, with its 
road, to intersect, connect with, or cross any other railroad ; 
and shall receive and transport each the other's passengers, 
tonnage, and cars, loaded or empty, without delay or discrim- 
ination, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 2. Railroads heretofore constructed, or that may here- 
after be constructed in this State, are hereby declared public 
highways, and railroad companies common carriers. The Legis- 
lature shall pass laws to regulate railroad freight and passenger 
tariffs, to correct abuses, and prevent unjust discrimination and 
extortion in the rates of freight and passenger tariffs on the 
.different railroads in this State, and enforce the same by ade- 
quate penalties ; and to the further accomplishment of these 
objects and purposes may provide and establish all requisite 
means and agencies, invested with such powers as may be 
deemed adequate and advisable. 

Sec. 3. Every railroad or other corporation, organized or 
doing business in this State under the laws or authority thereof, 
shall have and maintain a public office or place in this State 
for the transaction of its business, where transfers of stock 
shall be made, and where shall be kept, for inspection by the 
stockholders of such corporations, books, in which shall be 
recorded the amount of capital stock subscribed, the names 
of the owners of the stock, the amounts owned by them re- 
spectively, the amount of stock paid, and by whom, the transfer 
of said stock, with the date of the transfer, the amount of 
its assets and liabilities, and the names and places of residence 
of its officers. The directors of every railroad company shall 
hold one meeting annually in this State, public notice of which 
shall be given thirty days previously, and the president or 
superintendent shall report annually, under oath, to the Comp- 
troller or Governor, their acts and doings, which report shall 
include such matters relating to railroads as may be prescribed 
by law. The Legislature shall pass laws enforcing by suitable 
penalties the provisions of this section. j£t;.,' 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 3^7 

Sec. 4. The rolling stock and all other movable property be- 
longing to any railroad company or corporation in this State 
shall be considered personal property, and its real and personal 
property, or any part thereof, shall be liable to execution and 
sale in the same manner as the property of individuals ; and 
the Legislature shall pass no laws exemptnig any such property 
from execution and sale. 

Sec. 5. No railroad or other corporation, or the lessees, pur- 
chasers, or managers of any railroad corporation, shall consoli- 
date the stock, property, or franchises of such corporation with, 
or lease or purchase the works or franchises of, or in any way 
control any railroad corporation owning or having under its 
control a parallel or competing line ; nor shall any officer of 
such railroad corporation act as an officer of any other railroad 
corporation owning or having the control of a parallel or com- 
peting line. 

Sec. 6. No railroad company organized under the laws of 
this State shall consolidate by private or judicial sale or other- 
wise with any railroad company organized under the laws of 
any other State or of the United States. 

Sec. 7. No law shall be passed by the Legislature grant- 
ing the right to construct and operate a street railroad within 
any city, town, or village, or upon any public highway, without 
first acquiring the consent of the local authorities having con- 
trol of the street or highway proposed to be occupied by such 
street railroad. 

Sec. 8. No railroad corporation in existence at the time of 
the adoption of this Constitution shall have the benefit of any 
future legislation, except on condition of complete acceptance 
of all the provisions of this Constitution applicable to railroads. 

Sec. 9. No railroad hereafter constructed in this State shall 
pass within a distance of three miles of any county seat without 
passing through the same, and establishing and maintaining a 
depot therein, unless prevented by natural obstacles, such as 
streams, hills, or mountains ; provided, such town or its citizens 
shall grant the right of way through its limits, and sufficient 
ground for ordinary depot purposes. 

ARTICLE XL 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. 

Section i. The several counties of this State are hereby 
recognized as legal subdivisions of the State. 

Sec. 2. The construction of jails, court-houses, and bridges, 
and the establishment of county poorhouses and farms, and the 
laying out, construction, and repairing of county roads shall 
be provided for by general laws. 

Sec. 3. No county, city, or other municipal corporation shall 

hereafter become a subscriber to the capital of any private cor- 

"' tion or association, or make any appropriation or donation 



388 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

to the same, or iti any wise loan its credit; but this shall not 
be constrv.ed to in any way affect any obligation heretofore 
undertaken pursuant to law. 

Sec. 4. Cities and towns having a population of ten thousand 
inhabitants, or less, may be chartered alone by general law. 
They may levy, assess, and collect an annual tax to defray the 
current expenses of their local government, but such tax shall 
never exceed, for any one year, one fourth of one per cent, 
and shall be collectible only in current money. And all license 
and occupation tax levied, and all fines, forfeitures, penalties, 
and other dues accruing to cities and towns, shall be collectible 
only in current money. 

Sec. 5. Cities having more than ten thousand inhabitants may 
have their charters granted or amended by special act of the 
Legislature, and may levy, assess, and collect such taxes as may 
be authorized by law, but no tax for any purpose shall ever 
be lawful, for any one year, which shall exceed two and one 
half per cent, of the taxable property of such city; and no debt 
shall ever be created by any city, unless at the same time pro- 
vision be made to assess and collect annually a sufficient sum 
to pay the interest thereon and create a sinking fund of at least 
two per cent, thereon. 

Sec. 6. Counties, cities, and towns are authorized, in such 
mode as may now or may hereafter be provided by law, to 
levy, assess, and collect the taxes necessary to pay the interest 
and provide a sinking fund to satisfy any indebtedness hereto- 
fore legally made and undertaken ; but all such taxes shall be 
assessed and collected separately from that levied, assessed, and 
collected for current expenses of municipal government, and 
shall when levied specify in the act of levying the purpose 
therefor; and such taxes may be paid in the coupons, bonds, 
or other indebtedness for the payment of which such tax may 
have been levied. 

Sec. 7. All counties and cities bordering on the coast of the 
Gulf of Mexico are hereby authorized, upon a vote of two thirds 
of the tax-payers therein (to be ascertained as may be provided 
by law), to levy and collect such tax for construction of sea- 
walls, breakwaters, or sanitary purposes, as may be authorized 
by law, and may create a debt for such works and issue bonds 
in evidence thereof. But no debt for any purpose shall ever 
be incurred in any manner by any city or county, unless pro- 
vision is made, at the time of creating the same, for levying 
and collecting a sufficient tax to pay the interest thereon and 
provide at least two per cent, as a' sinking fund ; and the con- 
jemnation of the right of way for the erection of such works 
shall be fully provided for.. 

Sec. 8. The counties and cities on the Gulf coast being sub- 
ject to calamitous overflows, and a very large proportion of the 
general revenue being derived from those otherwise prosperous 
localities, the Legislature is especially authorized to aid by 
"donation of such portion of the public domain as may be deemed 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 389 

proper, and in such mode as may be provided by law, the 
construction of sea-walls, or breakwaters, such aid to be pro- 
portioned to the extent and value of the works constructed, or 
to be constructed, in any locality. 

Sec. 9. The property of counties, cities, and towns owned 
and held only for public purposes, such as public buildings and 
the sites therefor, fire engines and the furniture thereof, and 
all property used or intended for extinguishing fires, public 
grounds, and all other property devoted exclusively to the use 
and benefit of the public, shall be exempt from forced sale and 
from taxation ; provided, nothing herein shall prevent the en- 
forcement of the vendor's lien, the mechanic's or builder's lien, 
or other liens now existing. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature may constitute any city or town a 
separate and independent school district. And when the citizens 
of any city or town have a charter, authorizing the city authori- 
ties to levy and collect a tax for the support and maintenance of 
a public institution of learning, such tax may hereafter be 
levied and collected, if at an election held for that purpose, 
two thirds of the tax-payers of such city or town shall vote for 
such tax. 

ARTICLE XII. 

PRIVATE CORPORATIONS. 

Section i. No private corporations shall be created except 
by general laws. - 

Sec. 2. General laws shall be enacted providing for the crea- 
tion of private corporations, and shall therein provide fully for 
the adequate protection of the public and of the individual 
stockholders. 

Sec. 3. The right to authorize and regulate freights, tolls, 
.wharfage, or fares levied and collected or proposed to be levied 
and collected by individuals, companies, or corporations, for the 
use of highways, landings, wharves, bridges, and ferries, devoted 
to public use, has never been and shall never be relinquished 
or abandoned by the State, but shall _ always be under legis- 
lative control and depend upon legislative authority. 

Sec. 4. The first Legislature assembled after the adoption of 
this Constitution shall provide a mode of procedure by the 
Attorney-general and District or County Attorneys, in the name 
and behalf of the State, to prevent and punish the demanding or 
collection of any and all charges as freight, wharfage, fares, 
or tolls, for the use of property devoted to the public, unless 
the same shall have been specially authorized by law. 

Sec. 5. All laws granting the right to demand and collect 
freights, fares, tolls, or wharfage shall at all times be subject 
to amendment, modification, or repeal by the Legislature. 

Sec. 6. No corporation shall issue stock or bonds except for 
money paid, labor done, or property actually received, and all 
fictitious increase of stock or indebtedness shall be void. 



390 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 7. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to divest 
or affect rights guaranteed by any existing grant or statute oi 
this State, or of the Republic of Texas. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND TITLES. 

Section i. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, which 
have heretofore accrued to the Republic and State of Texas, 
under their constitutions and laws, shall accrue to the State 
tinder this Constitution ; and the Legislature shall provide a 
method for determining what lands have been forfeited, and 
for giving effect to escheats ; and all such rights of forfeiture 
and escheats to the State shall, ipso facto, inure to the protection 
of the imiocent holders of junior titles, as provided in Sections 
2, 3, and 4, of this Article. 

Sec. 2. Any claim of title or right to land in Texas, issued 
prior to the 13th day of November, 1835, not duly recorded in 
the county where the land was situated at the time of such 
record, or not duly archived in the General Land Office, or not 
in the actual possession of the grantee thereof, or some person 
claiming under him, prior to the accruing of junior title thereto 
from the sovereignty of the soil, under circumstances reasonably 
calculated to give notice to said junior grantee, has never had, 
and shall not have, standing or effect against such junior title^ 
or color of title, acquired without such or actual notice of such 
prior claim of title or right; and no condition annexed to 
such grants, not archived, or recorded, or occupied as aforesaid, 
has been, or ever shall be released or waived, but actual per- 
formance of all such conditions shall be proved by the person 
or persons claiming under such title or claim of right in order 
to maintain action thereon, and the holder of such junior title, 
or color of title, shall have all the rights of the government 
which have heretofore existed, or now exist, arising from the 
non-performance of all such conditions. 

Sec. 3. Non-payment of taxes on any claim of title to land, 
dated prior to the 13th day of November, 1835, not recorded 
or archived, as provided in Section 2, by the person or persons 
so claiming, or those under whom he or they so claim, from 
that date up to the date of the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be held to be a presumption that the right thereto has 
reverted to the State, and that said claim is a stale demand, 
which presumption shall only be rebutted by payment of all taxes 
on said lands. State, county, and city or town, to be assessed on 
the fair value of such lands by the Comptroller, and paid to 
him, without commutation or deduction for any part of the above 
period. 

Sec. 4. No claim of title or right to land, which issued prior 
to the 13th day of November, 1835, which has not been duly 
recorded in the county where the land was situated at the time 
of such record, or which has not been duly archived in the 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 39^ 

General Land Office, shall ever hereafter be deposited in the 
General Land Office, or recorded in this State, or delineated on 
the maps, or used as evidence in any of the courts of this State, 
and the same are .tale claims ; but this shall not effect such 
rights or presumptions as arise from actual possession. By the 
words, " duly recorded," as used in Sections 2 and 4 of this 
Article, it is meant that such claim of title or right to land 
shall have been recorded in the proper office, and that mere 
errors in the certificate of registration, or informality, not af- 
fecting the fairness and good faith of the holder thereof, with 
which the record was made, shall not be held to vitiate such 
record. 

Sec. 5. All claims, locations, surveys, grants, and titles, of 
any kind, which are declared null and void by the Constitution 
of the Republic or State of Texas, are, and the same shall re- 
main forever, null and void. 

Sec. 6. The Legislature shall pass stringent laws for the 
detection and conviction of all forgers of land titles, and may 
make such appropriations of money for that purpose as may 
■'Q necessary. 

Sec. 7. Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article shall not be so 
construed as to set aside or repeal any law or laws of the 
Republic or State of Texas, releasing the claimants of head- 
rights of colonists of a league of land, or less, from compliance 
with the conditions on v;hich their grants were made. 

ARTICLE XIV. 
public lands and land office. 

Section i. There shall be one General Land Office in the 
State, which shall be at the Seat of Government, where all land 
titles which have emanated or may hereafter emanate from the 
State shall be registered, except those titles the registration of 
which may be prohibited by this Constitution. It shall be the 
duty of the Legislature at the earliest practicable time to make 
the Land Office self-sustaining, and from time to time the Legis- 
lature may establish such subordinate offices as may be deemed 
necessary. 

Sec. 2. All unsatisfied genuine land certificates barred by Sec- 
tion 4, Article 10, of the Constitution of 1869, by reason of the 
holders or owners thereof failing to have them surveyed and 
returned to the Land Office by the first day of January, 1875, 
are hereby revived. All unsatisfied genuine land certificates now 
in existence shall be surveyed and returned to the General Land 
Office within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, 
or be forever barred ; and all genuine land certificates hereafter 
issued by the State shall be surveyed and returned to the Gen- 
eral Land Office within five years after issuance, or be forever 
barred ; provided, that all genuine land certificates heretofore or 
hereafter issued shall be located, surveyed, or patented only upon 



392 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

vacant and unappropriated public domain, and not upon any land 
titled or equitably owned under color of title from the sover- 
eignty of the State, evidence of the appropriation of which is 
on the county records or in the General Land Office ; or when 
the appropriation is evidenced by tb^ occupation of the owner, 
or of some person holding for him. 

Sec. 3. The Legislature shall have no power to grant any 
of the lands of this State to any railway company except upon 
the following restrictions and conditions : 

First. — That there shall never be granted to any such cor- 
poration more than sixteen sections to the mile, and no reser- 
vation of any part of the public domain for the purpose of 
satisfying such grant shall ever be made. 

Second. — That no land certificate shall be issued to such com- 
pany until they have, equipped, constructed, and in running or- 
der at least ten miles of road ; and on failure of such company 
to comply with the terms of its charter, or to alienate its land 
at a period to be fixed by law, in no event to exceed twelve 
years from the issuance of the patent, all said land shall be 
forfeited to the State and become a portion of the public do- 
main, and liable to location and survey. The Legislature shall 
pass general laws only, to give effect to the provisions of this 
section. 

Sec. 4.^ No certificate for land shall be sold at the Land Office 
except to actual settlers upon the same, and in lots not to exceed 
one hundred and sixty acres. 

Sec. 5. All lands heretofore or hereafter granted to railway 
companies, where the charter or law of the State required or 
shall hereafter require their alienation within a certain period, 
on pain of forfeiture, or is silent on the subject of forfeiture, 
and which lands have not been or shall not hereafter be alien- 
ated, in conformity with the terms of their charters, and the 
laws under which the grants were made, are hereby declared 
forfeited to the State and subject to pre-emption, location, and 
survey, as other vacant lands. All lands heretofore granted to 
said railroad companies, to which no forfeiture was attached 
on their failure to alienate, are not included in the foregoing 
clause ; but in all such last-named cases it shall be the duty of 
the Attorney-general, in every instance where alienations have 
been or hereafter may be made, to inquire into the same, and if 
such alienation has been made in fraud of the rights of the 
State, and is colorable only, the real and beneficial interest 
being still in such corporation, to institute legal proceedings 
in the county where the Seat of Government is situated, to 
forfeit such lands to the State, and if such alienation be ju- 
dicially ascertained to be fraudulent and colorable as aforesaid, 
such lands shall be forfeited to the State and become a part 
of the vacant public domain, liable to pre-emption, location, and 
survey. 

Sec. 6. To every head of a family without a homestead there 
shall be donated one hundred and sixty acres of public land, 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 393 

upon condition that he will select ^nd locate said land, and 
occupy the same three years, and pay the office fees due thereon. 
To all single men of eighteen years of age and upward shall 
be donated eighty acres of public land, upon the terms and con- 
ditions prescribed for heads of families. 

Sec. 7. The State of Texas hereby releases to the owner or 
owners of the soil all mines and minerals that may be on the 
same, subject to taxation as other property. 

Sec. 8. Persons residing between the Nueces River and the 
Rio Grande, and owning grants of land which emanated from 
the government of Spain, or that of Mexico, which grants have 
been recognized and validated by the State, by acts of the 
Legislature, approved February 10, 1852, August 15, 1870, and 
other acts, and who have been prevented from complying with 
the requirements of said acts by the unsettled condition of the 
country, shall be allowed until the first day of January, 1880, 
to complete their surveys, and the plots thereof, and to return 
their field-notes to the General Land Office ; and all claimants 
failing to do so shall be forever barred ; provided, nothing in 
this section shall be so construed as to validate any titles not 
already valid, or to interfere with the rights of third persons. 

ARTICLE XV. 

IMPEACHMENT. 

Section i. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the 
House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. Impeachment of the Governor, Lieutenant-governor, 
Attorney-general, Treasurer, Commissioner of the General Land 
Office, Comptroller, and the Judges of the Supreme Court, Court 
of Appeals, and District Court, shall be tried by the Senate. 

Sec. 3. When the Senate is sitting as a Court of Impeach- 
ment, the Senators shall be on oath, or affirmation, impartially 
to try the party impeached, and no person shall be convicted 
without the concurrence of two thirds of the Senators pres- 
ent. 

Sec. 4. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall extend only 
to removal from office, and disqualification from holding any 
office of honor, trust, or profit, under this State. A party con- 
victed on impeachment shall also be subject to indictment, trial, 
and punishment, according to law. 

Sec. 5. All officers against whom articles of impeachment may 
be preferred shall be suspended from the exercise of the duties 
of their office, during the pendency of such impeachment. The 
Governor may make a provisional appointment to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the suspension of an officer, until the decision on 
the impeachment. 

Sec. 6. Any Judge of the District Courts of the State who is 
incompetent to discharge the duties of his office, or who shall 
be guilty of partiality, or oppression, or other official miscon- 



394 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

duct, or whose habits and conducts are such as to render him un- 
fit to hold such office, or who shall negligently fail to perform 
his duties as judge, or who shall fail to execute in a reasonable 
measure the business in his courts, may be removed by the Su- 
preme Court. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdic- 
tion to hear and determine the causes aforesaid when presented 
in writing upon the oaths, taken before some Judge of a Court 
of Record, erf not less than ten lawyers, practicing in the courts 
held by such judge, and licensed to practice in the Supreme 
Court ; said presentment to be founded either upon the knowl- 
edge of the persons making it or upon the written oaths as to the 
facts of creditable witnesses. 

The Supreme Court may issue all needful process and pre- 
scribe all needful rules to give effect to this section. Causes of 
this kind shall have precedence and be tried as soon as practica- 
ble. 

Sec. 7. The Legislature shall provide by law for the trial 
and removal from office of all officers of this State, the modes 
for which have not been provided in this Constitution. 

ADDRESS. 

Sec. 8. The Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, 
and District Courts, shall be removed by the Governor on the 
address of two thirds of each House of the Legislature, for 
willful neglect of duty, incompetency, habitual drunkenness, op- 
pression in office, or other reasonable cause which shall not be 
sufficient ground for impeachment; provided, however, that the 
cause or causes for which such removal shall be required shall 
be stated at length in such address and entered on the journals 
of each House ; and provided further, that the cause or causes 
shall be notified to the judge so intended to be removed, and he 
shall be admitted to a hearing in his own defense before any 
vote for such address shall pass ; and in all such cases, the vote 
shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of 
each House respectively. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

general provisions. 

Section i. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, be- 
fore they enter upon the duties of their offices, shall take the 

following oath or affirmation : " I ( ) do solemn^ swear 

(or affirm), that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and 

perform all the duties incumbent upon m.e as , according to 

the best of my skill and ability, agreeably to the Constitution and 
laws of the United States and of this State; and 1 do furth:,. 
solemnly swear (or affirm), that since the adoption of the Con- 
stitution of this State,, I, being a citizen of this State, have not 
fought a duel with deadly weapons, within this State nor out 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 395 

of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with 
deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a chal- 
lenge, or aided, advised, or assisted any person thus offending. 
And I furthermore solemnly swear (or affirm), that I have not 
directly, nor indirectly paid, offered, or promised to pay, contrib- 
uted nor promised to contribute any money, or valuable thing, or 
promised any public office or employment, as a reward for the 
giving or withholding a vote at the election at which I was 
elected (or if the office is one of appointment, to secure my ap- 
pointment). So help me God." 

Sec. 2. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, serving on 
juries, and from the right of suft'rage, those who may have been 
or shall hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or 
other high crimes. The privilege ol iree suffrage shall be pro- 
tected by laws regulating elections, ana prohibiting under ade- 
quate penalties all undue influence therein frcm power, bribery, 
tumult, or other improper practice. 

Sec. 3. The Legislature shall make provisions whereby per- 
sons convicted of misdemeanors and committed to the county 
jails in default of payment of fines and costs, shall be required to 
discharge such fines and costs by manual labor, under such reg- 
ulations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption 
of this Constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send 
or accept a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, either 
within this State or out of it, or who shall act as second, or 
knowingly assist in any manner those thus offending, shall be 
deprived of the right of suffrage, or of holding any office of 
trust or profit under this State. 

Sec. 5. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any 
office of profit or trust in this State who shall have been con- 
victed of having given or offered a bribe to procure his election 
or appointment. 

Sec. 6. No appropriation for private or individual purposes 
shall be made. A regular statement, under oath, and an ac- 
count of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published annually, in such manner as shall be prescribed by 
law. 

Sec. 7, The Legislature shall, in no case, have power to is- 
sue " Treasury Warrants," " Treasury Notes," or paper of any 
description intended to circulate as money. 

Sec. 8. Each county in the State may provide, in such man- 
ner as may be prescribed by law, a manual-labor poorhouse and 
farm, for taking care of, managing', employing, and supplying 
the wants of its indigent and poor inhabitants. 

Sec. 9. Absence on business of the State, or of the United 
States, shall not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to de- 
prive any one of the right of suffrage, or of being elected or 
appointed to any office, under the exceptions contained in this 
Constitution. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall provide for deductions from 



39^ CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

the salaries of public officers who may neglect the performance 
of any duty that may be assigned them by law. 

Sec. II. All contracts for a greater rate of interest than ten 
per centum per annum shall be deemed usurious, and the first 
Legislature after this amendment is adopted shall provide ap- 
propriate pains and penalties to prevent the same ; but when no 
rate of interest is agreed upon, the rate shall not exceed six per 
centum per annum. 

Sec. 12, No member of Congress, nor person holding or ex- 
ercising any office of profit or trust under the United States, or 
either of them, or under any foreign power, shall be eligible as a 
member of the Legislature, or hold or exercise any office of 
profit or trust under this State. 

Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such 
laws as may be necessary and proper to decide differences by 
arbitration, when the parties shall elect that method of trial. 

Sec. 14. All civil officers shall reside within the State; and 
all district or county officers within their districts or counties, 
and shall keep their offices at such places as may be required by 
law ; and failure to comply with this condition shall vacate the 
office so held. 

Sec. 15. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, 
owned or claimed by her before marriage, and that acquired 
afterward by gift, devise, or descent, shall be her separate prop- 
erty ; and laws shall be passed more clearly defining the rights 
of the wife, in relation as well to her separate property as that 
held in common with her husband. Laws shall also be passed 
providing for the registration of the wife's separate property. 

Sec. 16. No corporate body shall hereafter be created, re- 
newed, or extended with banking or discounting privileges. 

Sec. 17. All officers within this State shall continue to per- 
form the duties of their offices until their successors shall be 
duly qualified. 

Sec. 18. The rights of property and of action which have been 
acquired under the Constitution and the laws of the Republic 
and State shall not be divested ; nor shall any rights or actions 
which have been divested, barred, or declared null and void by 
the Constitution of the Republic and State, be re-invested, re- 
newed, or re-instated by this Constitution; but the same shall 
remain precisely in the situation in which they were before the 
adoption of this Constitution, unless otherwise herein provided ; 
and provided further, that no cause of action heretofore barred 
shall be revived. 

Sec. 19. The Legislature shall prescribe by law the qualifica- 
tion of grand and petit jurors. 

Sec. 20. The Legislature shall, at its first session, enact a law 
whereby the qualified voters of any county, justice's precinct, 
town, or city (or such subdivision of a county as may be desig- 
nated by the Commissioners' Court of said county) may, by a 
majority vote, determine, from time to time, whether the sale 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 397 

of intoxicating liquors shall be prohibited within the prescribed 
limits. 

Sec. -2[. All stationery and printing, except proclamations and 
such printing as may be done at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, 
paper, and fuel used in the legislative and other departments of 
the government, except the judicial department, shall be fur- 
nished, and the printing and binding of the laws, journals, and 
department reports, and all other printing and binding, and the 
repairing and furnishing the halls and rooms used for the meet- 
ing of the Legislature, and its committees, shall be performed un- 
der contract, to be given to the lowest responsible bidder, below 
such maximum price and under such regulations as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. No member or officer of any department of the 
government shall be in any way interested in such contracts ; and 
all such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the Gov- 
ernor, Secretary of State and Comptroller. 

Sec. 22. The Legislature shall have the power to pass such 
fence laws, applicable to any subdivision of the State, or coun- 
ties, as may be needed to meet the wants of the people. 

Sec. 22,. The Legislature may pass laws for the regulation 
of live stock and the protection of stock-raisers in the stock- 
raising portion of the State, and exempt from the operation of 
such laws other portions, sections, or counties ; and shall have 
power to pass general and special laws for the inspection of cat- 
tle, stock, and hides, and for the regulation of brands ; pro- 
vided, that any local law thus passed shall be submitted to the 
freeholders of the section to be affected thereby, and approved 
by them, before it shall go into effect. 

Sec. 24. The Legislature shall make provision for laying out 
and working public roads, for the building of bridges, and for 
utilizing fines, forfeitures, and convict labor to all these purposes. 

Sec. 25. That all drawbacks and rcbatement of insurance, 
freight, transportation, carriage, wharfage, storage, compressing, 
bailing, repairing, or for any other kind of labor or service, of 
or to any cotton, grain, or any other produce or article of com- 
merce in this State, paid, or allowed, or contracted for to any 
common carrier, shipper, merchant, commission merchant, factor, 
agent, or middle-man of any kind, not the true and absolute 
owner therof, are forever prohibited, and it shall be the duty of 
the Legislature to pass effective laws punishing all persons in 
this State who pay, receive, or contract for or respecting the 
same. 

Sec. 2(i. _ Every person, corporation, or company that may com- 
mit a homicide, through willful act, or omission, or gross neg- 
lect, shall be responsible, in exemplary damages, to the surviving 
husband, wife, heirs of his or her body, or such of them as there 
may be, without regard to any criminal proceeding that may or 
may not be had in relation to the homicide. 

Sec. 27. In all elections to fill vacancies of office in this State, 
it shall be to fill the unexpired term only. 



398 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

Sec. 28. No current wages for. personal service shall ever 
be subject to garnishment. 

Sec. 29. The Legislature shall provide by law for defining and 
punishing barratry. 

Sec. 30. The duration of all ofifices not fixed by this Con- 
stitution shall never exceed two years ; provided, that when a 
railroad commission is created by law it shall be composed of 
three commissioners, who shall be elected by the people at a 
general election for State officers, and their terms of office shall 
be six years; provided, railroad commissioners first elected after 
this Amendment goes into effect shall hold office as follows : 
One shall serve two years, and one four years, and one six years, 
their terms to be decided by lot immediately after they shall have 
qualified. ' And one railroad commissioner shall be elected every 
two years thereafter. In case of vacancy in said office, the Gov- 
ernor of the State shall fill said vacancy by appointment until 
the next general election. [See amendment, page 402.] 

Sec. 31. The Legislature may pass laws prescribing the qual- 
ifications of pract itioners of medicine in this State, and to punish 
persons for malpractice, but no preference shall ever be given 
by law to any school of medicine. 

Sec. 32. The Legislature may provide by law for the estab- 
lishment of a Board of Health and Vital Statistics, under such 
rules and regulations as it may deem proper. 

Sec. 2)2)- The accounting officers of this State shall neither 
draw nor pay a warrant upon the treasury in favor of any per-, 
son for salary or compensation as agent, officer, or appointee, 
who holds at the same time any other office or position of honor, 
trust, or profit under this State or the United States, except as 
prescribed in this Constitution. 

Sec. 34. The Legislature shall pass laws authorizing the 
Governor to lease or sell to the government of the United States 
a sufficient quantity of the public domain of the State, neces- 
sary for the erection of forts, barracks, arsenals, and military 
stations, or camps, and for other needful military purposes; and 
the action of the Governor therein shall be subject to the ap- 
proval of the Legislature. 

Sec. 35. The Legislature shall, at its first session, pass laws 
to protect laborers on public buildings, streets, roads, railroads, 
canals, and other similar public works, against the failure of 
contractors and sub-contractors to pay their current w;ages 
when due, and to make, the corporation, company, or individual 
for whose benefit the work is done, responsible for their ulti- 
mate payment. 

Sec. 36. The Legislature shall, at its first session, provide 
for the payment, or funding, as they may deem best, of the 
amounts found to be justly due to the teachers in the public 
schools, by the State, for service rendered prior to the first day 
of July, 1873, and for the payment by the school districts in 
the State of amounts justlv due teachers of public schools bj 
such districts to January, 1876. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 399 

Sec. y?- Mechanics, artisans, and material men, of every 
class, shall have a lien upon the buildings and articles made or 
repaired by them, for the value of their labor done thereon, or 
material furnished therefor ; and the Legislature shall provide 
by law for the speedy and efficient enforcement of said liens. 

Sec. 38. The Legislature may, at such time as the public in- 
terest may require, provide for the office of Commissioner of 
Insurance, Statistics, and History, whose term of office, duties, 
and salary shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 39. The Legislature may, from time to time, make ap- 
propriations for preserving and perpetuating memorials of the 
history of Texas, by means of monuments, statues, printing, and 
documents of historical value. 

Sec. 40. No person shall hold or exercise, at the same time, 
more than one civil office of emolument, except that of Justice 
of the Peace, County Commissioner, Notary Public, and Post- 
master, unless otherwise specially provided herein. 

Sec. 41. Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, offer, 
give, or promise any money or thing of value, testimonial, priv- 
ilege, or personal advantage, to any executive or judicial officer 
or member of the Legislature, to influence him in the perform- 
ance of any of his public or official duties, shall be guilty of 
bribery, and be punished in such manner as shall be provided by 
law. And any member of the Legislature, or executive or 
judicial officer who shall solicit, demand, or receive, or consent 
to receive, directly or indirectly, for himself or for another, 
from any company, corporation, or person, any money, ap- 
pointment, employment, testimonial, reward, thing of value or 
employment, or of personal advantage or promise thereof, for 
his vote or official influence, or for withholding the same, or with 
any understanding, expressed or im.plied, that his vote or official 
action shall be in any way influenced thereby, or who shall solicits 
demand, and receive any such' money or other advantage, matter, 
or thing aforesaid for another, as the consideration of his vote 
or official influence, in consideration of the payment or promise 
of such money, advantage, matter, or thing to another, shall be 
held guilty of bribery, within the meaning of the Constitution, 
and shall incur the disabilities provided for said oft'enses, with a 
forfeiture of the office they may hold, and such other additional 
punishment as is or shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 42, The Legislature may establish an Inebriate Asylum 
for the cure of drunkenness and reform of inebriates. 

Sec. 43. No man or set of men shall ever be exempted, re- 
lieved, or discharged from the performance of any public duty 
or service imposed by general law, by any special law. Ex- 
emptions from the performance of such public duty or service 
shall only be made by general law. 

Sec. 44. The Legislature shall prescribe the duties, and pro- 
vide for the election by the qualified voters of each county in 
this State, of a County Treasurer and a County Surveyor, who 
shall have an office at the county seat, and hold their office for 



400 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

two years, and until their successors are qualified ; and shall have 
such compensation as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 45. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for 
collecting, arranging, and safely keeping such records, rolls, 
correspondence, and other documents, civil and military, relat- 
ing to the history of Texas, as may be now in the possession of 
parties willing to confide them to the care and preservation of 
the State. 

Sec. 46. The Legislature shall provide by law for organiz- 
ing and disciplining the militia of the State, in such manner as 
they shall deem expedient, not incompatible with the Constitu- 
tion and the laws of the United States, 

Sec. 47. Any person who conscientiously scruples to bear 
arms shall not be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent 
for personal serice. 

Sec. 48. All laws and parts of laws now in force in the State 
of Texas, which are not repugnant to the Constitution of the 
United States, or to this Constitution, shall continue and re- 
main in force as the laws of this State, until they expire by their 
own limitation or shall be amended or repealed by the Legisla- 
ture. 

Sec. 49. The Legislature shall have power, and it shall be its 
duty, to protect by law from forced sale a certain portion of the 
personal property of all heads of families, and also of unmar- 
ried adults, male and female. 

Sec. 50. The homestead of a family shall be, and is hereby 
protected from forced sale for the payment of all debts, except 
for the purchase-money thereof, or a part of such purchase- 
money, the taxes due thereon, or for work and material used in 
constructing improvements thereon, and in this last case only 
when the work and material are contracted for in writing, with 
the consent of the wife, given in the same manner as is re- 
quired in making a sale and conveyance of the homestead ; nor 
shall the owner, if a married man, sell the homestead without 
the consent of the wife, given in such manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law. No mortgage, trust deed, or other lien on the 
homestead shall ever be valid, except for the purchase-money 
therefor, or improvements made thereon, as hereinbefore pro- 
vided, whether such mortgage, or trust deed, or other lien shall 
have been created by the husband alone, or together with his 
wife; and all pretended sales of the homestead involving any 
condition of defeasance shall be void. 

Sec. 51. The homestead, not in a town or city, shall consist 
of not more than two hundred acres of land, which may be in 
one or more parcels, with the improvements thereon; the home- 
stead in a city, town, or village shall consist of lot, or lots, not 
to exceed in value five thousand dollars, at the time of their 
designation as the homestead, without reference to the value of 
any improvements thereon ; provided, that the same shall be 
used for the purposes of a home, or as a place to exercise the 
calling or business of the head of a family; provided also, that 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 401 

any temporary renting of the homestead shall not change the 
character of the same, when no other homestead has been ac- 
quired. 

Sec. 52. On the death of the husband or wife, or both, the 
homestead shall descend and vest in like manner as other real 
property of the deceased, and shall be governed by the same laws 
of descent and distribution, but it shall not be partitioned 
among the heirs of the deceased during the lifetime of the sur- 
viving husband or wife, or so long as the survivor may elect to 
use or occupy the same as a homestead, or so long as the 
guardian of the minor children of the deceased may be permitted, 
under the order of the proper court having the jurisdiction, to 
use and occupy the same. 

Sec. 53. That no inconvenience may arise from the adoption 
of this Constitution, it is declared that all process and writs of 
all kinds which have been or may be issued and not returned or 
executed when this Constitution is adopted, shall remain valid, 
and shall not be in any way affected by the adoption of this Con- 
stitution. 

Sec. 54. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for 
the custody and maintenance of indigent lunatics, at the ex- 
pense of the State, under such regulations and restrictions as 
the Legislature may prescribe. 

Sec. 55. The Legislature may provide annual pensions, not 
to exceed one hundred and fifty dollars per annum, to surviv- 
ing soldiers or volunteers, in the war between Texas and Mex- 
ico, from the commencement of the revolution in 1835, until the 
first of January, 1837 ; and also to the surviving signers of the 
Declaration of Independence of Texas ; and to the surviving 
widows continuing unmarried of such soldiers and signers ; 
provided, that no such pension be granted except to those in 
indigent circumstances, proof of which shall be made before the 
County Court of the county where the applicant resides, in such, 
manner as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 56. The Legislature shall have no power to appro- 
priate any of the public money for the establishment and main- 
tenance of a bureau of immigration, or for any purpose of bring- 
ing immigrants to this State. 

Sec. 57. Three millions acres of the public domain are hereby 
appropriated and set apart for the purpose of erecting a new 
State capitol and other necessary public buildings at the seat 
of government, said lands to be sold under the direction of the 
Legislature; and the Legislature shall pass suitable laws to 
carry this section into efifect. 

ARTICLE XVIL 

mode of amending the constitution of this state. 

Section i. The Legislature, at any biennial session, by a 
vote of two thirds of all the members elected to each House, to 



402 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

be entered by yeas and nays on the journals, may propose 
amendments to the Constitution, to be voted upon by the qualified 
electors for members of the Legislature, which proposed amend- 
ments shall be duly published once a week for four weeks, 
commencing- at least three months before an election, the time of 
which shall be specified by the Legislature, in one weekly news- 
paper of each county, in which such a newspaper may be pub- 
lished ; and it shall be the duty of the several returning officers 
of said election to open a poll for, and make returns to the Sec- 
retary of State, of the number of legal votes cast at said election 
for and against said amendments; and if more than one be pro- 
posed, then the number of votes cast for and against each of 
them; and if it shall appear from said return that a majority of 
the votes cast have been cast in favor of any amendment, the 
said amendment so receiving a majority of the votes cast shall 
become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation shall be 
made by the Governor thereof. 

Amendment declared adopted December 21, 1894. 

Art. XVI. — Section 30. The duration of all offices not fixed by this 
Constitution shall never exceed two years; Provided, that when a rail- 
road commission is. created by law it shall be composed of three commis- 
sioners, who shall be elected by the people at a general election for State 
officers, and their terms of office shall be six years: Provided, railroad 
commissioners first elected after this amendment goes into effect shall hold 
office as follows: One shall serve two years, and one four years, and one 
six years, their terms to be decided by lot, immediately after they shall 
have qualified. And one railroad commissioner shall be elected every two 
years thereafter. In case of vacancy in said office, the Governor of the 
State shall fill said vacancy by appointment until the next general election. 

Amendment declared adopted December i, 1898. 

Art. III. — Section 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make 
any grant or authorize the making of any grant of public money to any 
individual, associations of individuals, municipal or other corporation 
whatsoever: Provided, however, the Legislature may grant aid to indigent 
and disabled Confederate soldiers and sailors who came to Texas prior 
to January i, 1880, and who are either over sixty years of age, or whose 
disability is the proximate result of actual service in the Confederate army 
for a period of at least three months, their widows in indigent circum- 
stances who have never remarried, and who have been bona fide residents 
of the State of Texas since March i, 1880, and who were married to 
such soldiers or sailors anterior to March i, 1866; Provided, said aid 
shall not exceed eight dollars per month; And provided further, that no 
appropriation shall ever be made for the purpose hereinbefore specified m 
excess of $250,000 for any one year; and also grant aid to the establish- 
ment and maintenance of a home for said soldiers and sailors, under such 
regulations and limitations as may be provided by law; Provided, the grant 
to aid said home shall not exceed $100,000 for any one year; and no in- 
mate of said home shall be entitled to any other aid from the State; And 
provided further, that the provisions of this section shall not be construed 
to prevent the grant of aid in case of public calamity. 

Amendment declared adopted December 26, 1902. 

Art VI. Section 2. Every male person subject to none of the fore- 

eoing ' disqualifications, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one 
years and who shall be a citizen of the United States, and who shall 



CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS " 403 

have resided in this State one year next preceding an election, and the 
last six months within the district or county in which he offers to vote, 
shall be deemed a qualified elector; and every male person of foreign^ 
birth subject to none of the foregoing disqualifications, who, not less than 
six months before any election at which he offers to vote, shall have de- 
clared his intention to become a citizen of the United States in accord- 
ance with the Federal Naturalization Laws, and shall have resided in this. 
State one year next preceding such election and the last six months in 
the county in which he oft'ers to vote, shall also be deemed a qualified elec- 
tor; and all electors shall vote in the election precinct of their residence; 
Provided, that all electors living in any unorganized county may vote at 
any election precinct in the county to which such county is attached 
for judicial purposes; And provided further, that any voter who is sub- 
ject to pay a poll-tax under the laws of the State of Texas shall have 
paid said tax before he offers to vote at any election in this State, and 
hold a receipt showing his poll-tax paid before the first day of February 
next preceding such election. Or if said voter shall have lost or misplaced 
said tax receipt, he shall be entitled to vote upon making affidavit before 
any ofiicer authorized to administer oaths that such tax receipt has been 
lost. Such affidavit shall be made in writing and left with the judge of 
the election, and this provision of the Constitution shall be self-enacting 
without the necessity of further legislation. 

Amendments adopted November, 1904. 

Art. III. — Par. 52. The Legislature shall have no power to author- 
ize any county, city, town or other political corporation or subdivision 
of the State to lend its credit or grant public money or thing of value 
in aid of, or to any individual, association or corporation whatsoever, or to 
become a stockholder in such corporation, association or company, pro- 
vided, howe\er, that under legislative provision any county, any political 
subdivision of a county, any number of adjoining counties, or any political) 
subdivision of the State, or any defined district now or hereafter to be 
described and defined within the State of Texas, and which may or 
may not include towns, villages or municipal corporations, upon a vote of 
a two-thirds majority of the resident property taxpayers voting thereon 
who are qualified electors of such district or territory to be affected 
thereby, in addition to all other debts, may issue bonds or otherwise lend 
its credit in any amount not to exceed one-fourth of the assessed valu- 
ation of the real property of such district or territory, exce|it that the 
total bonded indebtedness of any city, or town shall never exceed the 
limits imposed by other provisions of this Constitution, and levy and col- 
lect such taxes to pay the interest thereon and provide a sinking fund for 
the redemption thereof, as the Legislature may authorize, and in such 
manner as it may authorize the same, for the following purposes, to-wit: 

(a) The improvement of rivers, creeks and streams to prevent over- 
flows, and to permit of navigation thereof, or irrigation thereof, or in aid 
of such purposes. 

(b) The construction and maintenance of pools, lakes, reservoirs, dams, 
canals and waterways for the purposes of irrigation, drainage or navigation, 
or in aid thereof. 

(c) The construction, maintenance and operation of macadamized, grav- 
eled or paved roads and turnpikes, or in aid thereof. 

Art. XVL — Par. 16. The Legislature shall, by general laws, au- 
thorize the corporation of corporate bodies with banking and discounting 
privileges, and shall provide for a system of State supervision, regulation, 
and control of such bodies which will adequately protect and secure the de- 
positors and creditors thereof. 

Each shareholder of such corporate body incorporated in this State, so 
long as he owns shares therein, and for twelve months after the date of 
any bona-iide transfer thereof shall be personally liable for all debts of 
such corporate body existing at the date of such transfer, to an amount 
additional to the par value of such shares so owned or transferred, equal 
to the par value of such shares so owned or transferred. 

No such corporate body shall be chartered until all of the authorized 
capital stock has been subscribed and paid for in full in cash. Such body 



404 CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS 

corporate shall not be authorized to engage in business at more than one 
place, which shall be designated in its charter. 

No foreign corporation, other than the National banks of the United 
States, shall be permitted to exercise banking or discounting privileges in 
this State. 

ART. IIL — Par. 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make 
any grant or authorize the making of any grant of public money to 
any individual, associations or individuals, municipal or other corporations 
whatsoever; Provided, hoivever, the Legislature may grant aid to indigent 
and disabled Confederate soldiers and sailors, who came to Texas prior 
to January ist, 1880, and who are either over sixty years of age or 
whose disability is the proximate result of actual service in the Confederate 
army for a period of at least three months, their widows in indigent cir- 
cumstances, who have never re-married and who have been bona-fide resi- 
dents of the State of Texas, since March ist, 1880, and who were mar- 
ried to such soldiers or sailors anterior to March ist, 1880; Provided, 
said aid shall not exceed eight dollars per month; And provided further, 
that no appropriation shall ever be made for the purposes hereinafter 
specified in excess of five hundred thousand dollars for any one year. 
And also grant aid to the establishment and maintenance of a home for 
said soldiers and sailors, under such regulations and limitations as may 
be provided by law; Provided, the grant to aid said homes shall not ex- 
ceed one hundred thousand dollars per any one year, and no inmate of 
said home shall be entitled to any other aid from the State, And provided 
further, that the provision of this section shall not be construed to pre- 
vent the grant of aid in case of public calamity. 

Amendment adopted November, 1906. 

Art. VIII.— Section 2. All occupation taxes shall be equal and uni- 
form upon the same class of subjects within the limits of the author- 
ity levying the tax, but the Legislature may, by general laws, exempt 
from taxation public property used for public purposes, actual places of 
religious worship, places of burial not held for private or corporate profit; 
all buildings used exclusively and owned by persons or associations of 
persons for school purposes and the necessary furniture of all schools, also 
the endowment funds of such institutions of learning and religion not 
used with a view to profit and when the same are invested in bonds or 
mortgages or in land or other property which has been and shall here- 
after be brought in by such institution under foreclosure sales made to 
satisfy or protect such bonds or mortgages; that such exemption of such 
land and property shall continue only for two years after the purchase of 
the same at such sale by said institution and no longer; and institutions 
of purely public charity; and all laws exempting property from taxation 
other than the property above mentioned shall be null and void. 

Art. VIII. — Section 9. The State tax on property, exclusive of the 
tax necessary to pay the public debt, and of the taxes provided for the 
benefit of the public free schools, shall never exceed thirty-five cents on 
the one hundred dollars valuation; and no county, city, or town shall 
levy more than twenty-five cents for city or county purposes, and not ex- 
ceeding fifteen cents for roads and bridges, and not exceeding fifteen cents 
to pay jurors, on the one hundred dollars valuation, except for the pay- 
ment of debts incurred prior to the adoption of the amendment Sep- 
tember 25th, 1883, and for the erection of public buildings, streets, sew- 
ers, water works and other permanent improvements, not to exceed twen- 
ty-five cents on the one hundred dollars valuation, in any one year, and 
except as in this Constitution otherwise provided; and the Legislature 
may also authorize an additional ad valorem tax to be levied and collected 
for the further maintenance of the public roads; Provided, that a major- 
ity of the qualified property tax-paying voters of the county voting at an 
election to be held for that purpose shall vote such tax, not to exceed 
fifteen cents on the one hundred dollars valuation of the property sub- 
ject to taxation in such county. 

And the Legislature may pass local la\vs for the maintenance of the public 
roads and highways, without the local notice required for special or local laws. 



PRONUNCIATION. 



Aguayo (a-guii'-yo). 
Ahumada ( a-u-mii'da ) . 
" Aimable " ( a-ma'ble ) . 
Alamo ( Ji'la-mo ) . 
Alazan (a-la-san'). 
Almonte ( al-mon'ta ) . 
Alvarez (al'va-ras). 
Amat (ah-mii't). 
Anahuac ( a-nli-wak' ) . 
Anastase ( ii-njis'tas ) . 
Anaya (a-na'ya). 
Andrade ( jin-dra'da ) . 
Arista (ii-res'tii). 
Arredondo ( ar-ra-don'do ) . 
Arroyo Hondo (ar-ro'yo'On'do 
a-yun-ta-mi-en'to ) . 

Barataria ( ba-ra-ta're-a ) . 
Bayou (bi'oo). 
Beaujeu ( bo-zhuh' ) . 
Bexar ( ba-har' ) . 
Bustamante ( boos-ta-man'ta ) , 

Canales (ka-na'las). 
Capistrano (ka-pe-stril'nO) . 
Carbajal (kar-ba-hal'). 
Castenado ( kas-ta-nii'do ) . 
Coahuila ( ko-a-wee'la ) . 
Coleto ( coh-lay-toe ) . 
Coronado { kor-o-na'dO ) . 
Cos (eoss). 

Coushatta ( koo-shat'ta ) . 
Creve Coeur (krev-ker). 
Crozat (cro-za'). 



). 



Delgado ( dul-ga'do ) . 
De Leon (la-on'). 
De Tonti (daton'te). 
Duhaut (du-ho'). 

Elizondo ( a-le-son'do ) . 
Espada (a-spa'dii). 
Espejo (as-pa'hO). 
Espiritu ( es-pe're-too ) . 

Filisola (fe-le-sO'la). 
Flores (flo'res). 

Gachupin ( ga-chu-pin ) . 
Galvez ( giil'vath ) . 
Grito (gre'to). 
Guadalupe ( gwa-da-lu'pa ) , 
Guerrero ( garre'ro ) . 
Guizot (gwe-zo'). 
Gutierres ( gOo-te er'es ) . 

Hacienda ( ii-the-en'da ) . 
Herrera ( ar-ra'ia ) . 
Hidalgo ( e-diirgo ) . 
Huiear (wee-kar). 

Iturbide ( e-toor-be'da ) . 

Jean (zhon). 
Jose (ho-se'). 
Joutel (zhoo-tir). 

La Bahia (laba-e'a). 
Lafitte (la-fef). 



405 



4o6 



PRONUNCIATION 



Xa Salle (lii-sUr). 
Xavaca (la-vak'a). 
Xiotot (le-o'tO). 

Madero ( ma-da'rO ) . 
Manitou ( man'i-to ) . 
Margil (mar-jel'). 
Marina ( ma-re'na ) . 
Martinez ( mar-tee'-neth ] 
Menchaco ( men-cha'co ) . 
Mexla ( may-hee'-ah ) . 
Jttier (me'-a). 
Mina (me'na). 
Mloranget (mor-an-ja'). 
Jffiorelos ( mo-ra'los ) . 

ITachitoches (nak-i-tosh' 
ITassonite ( nas-son-e'ta ) , 
Narvaez ( nar-vii'eth ) . 
ITeches (nech'ez). 

Padua (pad'u-ii). 
Pedrazo (pa-drii'zo). 
Pedro (pa'dro). 
Perote (pa-r5'ta). 
Piedras (pe-a'dras). 
Plaza (plii'za). 
Presidio (pra-se'de-o). 

Hafael (ra-fii-el). 
E,ef ugio ( ra-foo'je-o ) . 
Hegidore ( ra-he-dor' ) . 



Rosalis (ro-sli'les). 
Eouen (ro-on'). 

St. Denis (de-ne'). 

Salcedo (sal-sa'do). 

Saltillo (sal-tel'yo). 

Salig-ny ( sa-li-uye' ) . 

San Felipe (san fa-le'pa). 

San Juan (san wan). 

San Patricio (siin pii-tres-e-o), 

Sante Fe (fa). 

Santiago ( san-te-li'gO ) . 

Sindico (sin-de'ko). 

Tamaulipas ( ta-mow-le'pas ) . 
Teran (ta-ran'). 
Terre (tar). 
Toledo (to-la'do). 
Tortillas (tor-teeryas) . 
Trespalacios ( tres-pa-lii'se-os ) . 

TJgartechia ( oo-giir-ta-che'ii ) - 
Urrea (oo-ra'a). 

Valero (va-la'ro). 
Vasquez (vass-kess). 
Valladolid ( val-ya-THo-leXH' ) . 
Versailles ( ver-salz' ) . 
Vicente (ve-sen'ta). 
Viesca (ve-as'kii). 

Zacatecas ( za-kii-ta'kas ) . 
Zavala (za-va'la). 



INDEX 



Adams, John Quincy, 93. 

Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege, 253. 

Aguayo, 14. 

Ahumada, -jz. 

Aimable, 5, 6. 

Alaman, Lucas, 94, 310. 

Alamo Mission, 25, 26, 2-j-j. 

Alamo Monuments, 134. 

Alamo, Origin of Name, 298. 

Alamo, Siege of, 128—134. 

Alarcon, Martin de, 14. 

Alazan, Battle of the, 42. 

Alcalde, 70, 74. 

Alcantro, Battle of, 203. 

Alien Land Law, 264. 

Almonte, 152. 

Alvarez, Seiiora, 324. 

Amat, 147. 

Ampudia, 203. 

Anahuac, 97, 98, 114. 

Anderson, K. L., 212. 

Andrews, Richard, 119, 317. 

Annexation, 191, 198, 210—213. 

Anti-trust Laws, 268. 

Anti-pass Law, 280. 

Arbitration Law, 268. 

Archer, B. J., 98, 119, 310, 

Archer, P. C, 333. 

Archive War, 200. 

Arista, 107. 

Armistice, 208. 

Armstrong, F. C, 333. 

Arredondo, 43, 302. 

Arroyo, Hondo, 39, 299. 

Asinais Indians, 12. 

Asylums, 232, 262, zyT. 

Aury, Louis, 302. 

Austin City, 345. 

Austin, John, 99, 100, 311. 

Austin, Moses, 59, 305. 

Austin, Stephen F., 60—66, 104— 
115, 186-189, 306-309, 316. 

Ayuntamiento, 74. 



Bagby, A. P., 333. 

Bailey, Joseph W., 341, 346. 

Baker, Capt., 147. 

Baker, B. M., 343. 

Banks, General, 241, 242. 

Barataria, 45. 



Barker, Eugene, 33, 52, -jd, 166, 

172, 215. 
Bastrop, Baron de, 60—65, 305. 
" Bayou City," 241. 
Bean, Peter Ellis, 38, 55, 253, 295. 
Beaujeu, 4, 5. 
Bee, H. P., 226, 333- 
Bell, Chas. K., 280. 
Bell, Josiah, 64, 80. 
Bell, P. H., 22T, 230. 
Bell, T. B., 81. 
" Belle, The," 5, 6. 
Bexar, 15. 
Bexar Archives, 16. 
Bienville, 295. 
Blackburn, E., 39. 
Blanco, 70. 
Blockade, 97, 240. 
Bolton, Herbert E., 15, 33, 52, y^, 

166, 172, 215, 290, 294- 
Bonham, James B., 129—133, 320 
Bowie, James, 117, 119, 129, 320. 
Bowles, 194. 

Boundary Troubles, 22J. 
Bradburn, Jno. D., 97—100. 
Brooks, M. M., 280. 
Brown, H. S., 100. 
Brown, T. J., 278. 
Bryan, Guy M., 251, 252, 335. 
Bryan, Wm., 210. 
Buchel, 226. 

Bugbee, Lester G., 294, 298. 
Burleson, Edwa'-d, 120—123, i93j. 

195, 198, 202, 317, 319, 325. 
Burnet, David G., 72, 105, 137, 147, 

154, 156, 157, 192, 314, 344. 
Burr, Aaron, 37, 298. 
Burton, I. W., 159. 
Bustamante, 95, 99, 100. 



Cabeza, De Vaca, 9, 293. 

Cadillac, 11, 12. 

Caldwell, M., 201. 

Calhoun, Jno. C, 336. 

Cameron, Capt., 205, 206. 

Campbell, Thomas M., 280—283, 34i« 

Canary Island Colonists, 15. 

Canby, 239. 

Capistrano Mission, 28, 29. 

Capitals of Texa's, 345. 

Capitol Burned, 257. 



407 



4o8 



INDEX 



Capitol, New, 260. 

Carbajal, 97. 

Carlisle, J. M., 343. 

Cart War, 233- 

Cave, Secretary, 237. 

Cavalier, Abbe, 7, 8. 

Centralists, 107, 

Chanler, Capt., 200. 

Charles II, 294. 

Chaplin, 70. 

Chevalie, 226. 

Childress, G. C, 163. 

Chilton, Horace, 346. 

Cherokees, 193. 

Civil War, 236—244. 

Clark, Geo. W., 265. 

Clarke, Edward, 235-238, 332. 

Clay, Henry, 330. 

Coahuila, 73, 95, 106, iii. 

Coke, Richard, 251-25^. 335, 346. 

Coleto, Battle of, 142. 

Collinsvvorth, Geo. M., 158, 189, 
326. 

Colquitt, O. B., 280. 

Columbia, 345. 

Comanche Chiefs, 194. 

Compromise of 1850, 228. 

Concepcion, Battle of, 117. 

Concepcion Mission, 26, 27. 

Confederate Home, 264, 268. 

Confederate Reunion, 269, 274. 

Congress, First, 187. 

Constitution, 106, 347. 

Consultation, 119. 

Conventions at San Felipe de Aus- 
tin, 104, 105. 

Cooke, Philip St. George, 207. 

Cooper, O. H., 343. 

Cordova, 193. 

Coronado, 9. 

Cortez, 9. 

Cortina, 236. 

Cos, 114, 122, 129, 152. 

Council House Fight, 194. 

Cousins, R. B., 343. 

Coxey Army, 265. 

Crane, M. M., 262. 

Crockett, David, 129, 320. 

Crockett, J. M., 239. 

Crozat, 12. 

Culberson, Charles A., 267-270, 338, 
346. 

Culberson, David B., 338. 



Dam, Austin, 266, 271. 

Daughters of the Republic, 344. 

Davis, E. J., 249-252, 334. 

Davis, Jefferson, 241. 

Dawson Massacre, 201. 

De Bray, X. B., 333. 

Debts, 231, 252, 331. 

Declaration of Independence, 137, 

163. 
De Leon, Captain, 10. 



De Leon's Colony, 67. 

Delgado, 42, 301. 

De Soto, 9. 

Dewees, Letters of, 78. 

De Witt's Colony, 66, 308. 

De Zavala, 108— 116, 137—147, 156, 

187, 315. 
Dickinson, Mrs., 145, 146, 323 
Dickson, D. C, 231. 
Dowling, Richard, 241. 
Douay, Anastase, 7, 8. 
Drawing Black Beans, 204. 
Duhaut, 7, 8. 
Duran, 107. 



Ector, M. D., 333. 

Education. 342. 

Edwards, Benjamin, 69—71, 308. 

Edwards, Hayden, 69-71, 308. 

El grito de Dolores, 294. 

Elizondo, 42, 302. 

Ellis, Richard, 137, 187. 

Empresarios, 310. 

Encinal del Perdido, 142, 

Ernst, 84. 

Espejo, 9. 

Fannin, J. W., 117, 140-143, 3-4- 

Farias, 107. 

" leather of Texas," 189. 

Fee Bill, 269. 

Fence-Cutters, 258. 

Fields, Chief, 71. 

Filibuster, 36, 294. 

Filisola, 154, 157. 

Fisher, W. S., 202—204, 327, 

Flag, Lone Star, 329. 

Flanagan, J. W., 340. 

Floods, 270. 

Flores, 193. 

Ford, Colonel, 244. 

Fort St. Louis, 6. 

Fort St. Louis on the Illinois, 7. 

Fredonian Rebellion, 71. 

French Claims on Texas, 1-9. 



Gachupin, 43. 

Gaines, Capt., 40. 

Gaines, R. K., 278. 

Galveston, Origin of Name, 302. 

Galveston Island, 44, 46, 47. 

Galveston Retaken, 240. 

Galveston Storm, 271. 

Gano, R. M., 333. 

Garcia, 66. 

Garrison, Geo. P., 289, 290, 292- 

296, 323- 
Gary, 324. 
Gary, Hampson, 339. 
Gibbs, Barnett, 251. 
Gil y Barbo, 15. 

Girls' College Industrial Arts, 277. 
Goliad, 30, 41. 



INDEX 



409 



Goliad, Capture of, 117. 

Goliad, Massacre, 144. 

Gonzales, dj. 

Granger, General, 245. 

Granbury, H. B., 333. 

Grant, Doctor, 124, 140, 319. 

Grant, President, 252, 

Grass Fight, 318. 

Gravson, Peter \V., 158, 326. 

" Grays, The," 120, 312. 

Green, Tom, 239, 333. 

Greer County, 259. 

Greer, E., 333. 

Greer, John A., 227. 

Gregg, John, 333. 

Griffin, 247. 

Grito, 107, 311, 

Gutierres, 40, 42, 47, 301. 



Hamilton, A. J., 333. 

Hamilton M. C, 346. 

Hancock, General, 248, 334. 

Hardeman, Bailey, 156. 

Hardeman, W. P., 333. 

" Harriet Lane," 240. 

Harris, Mrs. Dilue, 87, 179. 

Harrison, J. E., 333. 

Harrison, Thos., 333. 

Harrisburg, 345. 

Hastings, Thomas, 105. 

Hawkins, 62. 

Haynes, Jno. L., 333. 

Hays, Jno. C, 199, 226. 

Hemphill, John, 346. 

Henderson, J. P., 211, 22i\,—22(), 329, 

346. 
Henderson, J. W., 231. 
Herrera, 44, 46, 213, 299 
Hidalgo, 13, 36. 
Hockley, Geo., 325. 
Hogg, J. L., zzi- 
Hogg, J. S., 262-266, 337. 
Hollingsworth, O. N., 343. 
Hood, John B., 333. 
Hood's Brigade, 243. 
" Horse Marines," 159. 
Horton, A. C, 226. 
Houston City, 345. 
Houston, D. F., 280. 
Houston's Retreat, 145. 
Houston, Sam, 105, 106, 116, 125, 

138-149, 169, 186, 192, 198-21 1, 

225, 2ZS-2.2,7, 240, 313, 314, 325, 

332. 
Hubbard, R. B., 251, 254, 255, 335. 
Huicar, 26. 
Hunt, Memucan, 191. 
Hunter, John Dunn, 71, 309. 
Huston, Felix, 190, 191, 195, 280. 



Independence, Declaration of, 

163. 
Indians, Native, 16—22. 



Ingram, Ira, 187. 
Ireland, John, 251-260, 336. 
Iron Clad Oath, 334. 
Iturbide, 37. 



Jackson, President, 157, 158. 
Jester, Geo. T., 267. 
Johnson, A. R., 333. 
Jolinson, President, 245, 246. 
Johnson, F. W., 99, 104, 121, 123, 

125, 138, 140. 
Johnston, Albert Sidney, 191, 226, 

Z2,2„ 345- 
Jones, Anson, 212-214, 328. 
Jones, G. W., 246. 
Joutel, 4, 6, 7, 9, 292. 
Journal, Austin's, 99, 100. 



Kaufman, D. S., 225. 
Kemper, Samuel, 40, 41. 
Kennedy, M. M., 220. 
Kendall, J. S., 343- 
Kerr, James, 66. 
Kimble, H. S., 137. 
King, Captain, 140, 141. 
King, W. H., 333. 
Kinney, 226. 

Kleberg, R. W., Jr., 84. 
Know Nothing Party, 2t,Z- 
Kuykendall, J. H., 86. 



La Bahia, 12. 

Lafitte, 44-47. 304. 

Lallemand, 304. 

Lamar, Mirabeau B., 155, 186, 192- 

198, 325, 326. 
Lane, W. P., 333. 
Lanham, S. W. T., 275-280, 340. 
La Purisinia Concepcion, 295 
La Salle, 2-9, 290-293. 
Lee, Robert E., 244. 
Lefevre, Arthur, 343. 
Letona, 97. 
Lewis, Mark, 201. 
Lincoln, President, 236. 
Liotot, 7, 8, 9. 
" Lively, The," 62, 64. 
Lockett, 40. 

Long, James, 47, 48, 304. 
Long, Mrs. Jane, 53. 
Lottery, The Fatal, 204. 
Louis XIV., I, 3. 9- 
Louisiana Ceded to Spain, 15. 
Louisiana Purchased by U. S., 39, 

299- 
Lubbock, F. R., 21^). 



Mabry, H. P., zzz- 

Madero, 97. 

Magee, Augustus W., 39-41 



300. 



410 



INDEX 



Magruder, General, 240. 

Map of Boundary of 1850, 230. 

Map of Eras I. & U., 11. 

Map of Eras III. & IV., 63. 

Map of Houston's Retreat, 148. 

Map of San Jacinto Battle Ground, 

151- 
March Second, 137. 
Margil, 26. 
Martin, Marion, 260. 
Martin, Captain, 116, 147. 
Martinez, 59. 
Marque, Letters of, 46. 
Massacre, Dawson. 
Massanet, 10, 293. 
Matagorda Bay, 4. 
Matamoras Expedition, 124. 
Maxey, S. B., 333, 346. 
McCulloch, Ben., 226, 333. 
McCuUoch, H. E., 226, 333. 
McGloin, 310. 
McKim, 300. 
McKinstry, Geo. B., 98. 
McMullen, 310. 
Medina, Battle of, 42, 301. 
Mejia, loi, 102. 
Memorial, 105. 
Mier, Expedition, 202. 
Milam, Ben, 117, 121, 122, 317, 318. 
Military Rule, 245. 
Millard, 325. 
Miller, J. B., 104, 106. 
Mills, Roger Q., 346 
Mina, 302. 

Missions, The, 22-31, 294—298. 
Moderators, 208. 
Monclova, 112, 
Moore, John, 116, 195. 
Moore, Commodore, 210. 
Morgan, James, 210. 
Moranget, 7. 
Morelos, 36. 
Morfit, 158. 

Murrah Pendleton, 242-245, 333. 
Musquiz, 38, 299. 



Nacogdoches, 15, ig, 31, 45> 69. 
Nacogdoches, Missions Near, 295. 
Napoleon, 302. 
Navy, Texas, 158, 209. 
Negro Uprising, 232. 
Neil, J. C, 121, 122, 124, 125, 128. 
Nelson, A., 333. 
Nepotism Law, 280. 
" Neptune, The," 241. 
Neutral Ground, 39, 299. 
New Capitol, 260. 
Ney, Elizabeth, 275, 340. 
Nika, 7, 8. 

Nolan, Philip, 37, 298. 
Norris, Samuel, 70. 
North Texas Normal, 275. 
Nuestra, Seiiora de la Guadalupe, 
290. 



Nuestra, Seiiora dc los Dolores, 291. 
Neuvo Leon, 73. 



Old Stone Fort, 15, 292. 
Oil, Discovery of, 273. 



Palmer, Martin, 72. 

Palmito, 244. 

Pardon Advisors, 266. 

Parker, Cynthia Ann, 331. 

Parker, Quanah, 331. 

Parsons, VW H., 333. 

Pasteur Institute, 277. 

Peabody Fund, 336.. 

Peach Point, 187. 

Pease, E. M., 231-234, 249, 330. 

Pedraza, 103. 

Pendleton, Geo. C, 262. 

Penitentiary, 254. 

Perote, Fortress, 206. 

Perry, Colonel, 40, 42, 43. 

Perry, Mrs. J as. F., 187. 

Philip II., 10. 

Piedras, 99, 102. 

Pig Causes Trouble With France, 

327- 
Pilgrim, T. J., 79- 
Pilsbury, T., 225. 
Plum Creek, Battle of, 195. 
Point Bolivar, 48, 54. 
Polk, President, 211. 
Potter's Description of Alamo, 323. 
Potter, Robert, 155. 
Powers and Hewitson, 310. 
Prairie \^iew Normal, 256. 
Prather, \V. L., 280. 
Pritchett, H. C, 343- 
Prohibition Amendment, 260. 
Pronunciamento, 311. 



Quintana, 345. 



Railroad Commission, 263. 

Raines, C. W., 289. 

Ramon, Diego, 13. 

Randall, H., 333- 

Rangers, Texas, 192, 226. 

Reagan, John H., 264, 337, 346. 

Refugio, 29. 140- 

Regidores, 74. 

Regulators and Moderators, 208. 

Renshaw, 239. 

Republic of Fredonia, 71. 

Republic of the Rio Grande, 195. 

Retreat, Houston's, 145-149. 

Revolution, Causes of, 95, 96. 

Rigault, 304. 

Roberts, O. M., 255-257, 336. 

Robertson, Felix H., 333. 

Robertson, J. B., 333- 

Robertson, Sterling, 310. 



INDEX 



411 



Robinson, J. W., 119, 125, 177. 

Rosillo, Battle of, 41. 

Ross, L. S., 260-262, 331, 332, 337, 

340. 
Ross, Reuben, 40. 
Royalists, 40. 

Runaway Scrape, 146, 179, 
Runnels, Hardin R., 234, 331. 
Rusk, Thos. J., 154, 190, 217, 225, 

329, 346. 
Russel, William, 100. 



Sabine Pass, Battle of, 241. 

Saint Denis, 12, 13, 14, 294, 295. 

Salado, Battle of, 201. 

Salcedo, 41, 42, 

Saligny, 192. 

Saltillo, 73, 112. 

Sam Houston Normal Institute, 256. 

San Antonio de Bexar, 13, 14, 15, 
25, 30. 

San Antonio, Capture of by Milam, 
122. 

San Antonio de Valero, 26. 

Salcedo, 41, 42. 

San Felipe de Austin, 66, 345. 

San Francisco de la Espada Mis- 
sion, 29. 

San Francisco de los Tejas Mis- 
sion, 10. 

San Jacinto, Battle of, 148—154, 169, 
172-175, 282. 

San Jacinto, Battle-ground, 282. 

San Jose Mission 26, 27. 

San Juan Capistrano Mission, 29. 

San Miguel de Linares Mission, 291 

San Saba Mission, 29. 

Santa Anna, 102, 103, 107, 108, 
110-113, 126, 144, 157, 177, 312, 
313, 325. 

Santa Fe Expedition, 195. 

Sayers, Jos. D., 270-275, 339. 

Scaling Debts, 331. 

Scott, Winfield, 226. 

Scurry, W. R., 226, 333. 

Seguin, 60. 

Sesma, 146. 

Sherman, Sidney, 325, 344. 

Sibley Expedition, 239. 

Sindico, 74. 

Slaughter, J. E., 244. 

Smith, Ashbel, 212, 213, 327, 328. 

Smith, Ben Fort, 88. 

Smith, " Deaf," 120, 147, 149, 308, 

Smith, Henry, 119, 123—125, 162, 

319. 
Smith, Kirby, 244. 
Smith, Thomas, 200. 
Snively Expedition, 206. 
Somervell, General, 202, 
South West Normal, 277. 
Spanish Claims, 9. 
Spanish American War, 270, 339. 



Steele, Wm., 333. 
Stockdale, F. S., 242. 
Stock and Bond Law, 266. 
Stone Fort, 15, 296. 
Story, L. J., 255. 
Sugar Bounty, 265. 
Supreme Court, 189, 278. 



Taylor, Mrs. Bride Neill, 340. 

Taylor, President, 225, 226. 

Tawacanies, 86. 

Teran, 96. 

Terrell, A. W., 279. 

Terry, Rangers, 243. 

Texas Exchanged, 47. 

Texas Indians, 15—22. 

Texas, Origin of Name, 294. 

Texas Quarterly, 84, 86, 87, 179, 

Texas Rangers, 192, 226. 

" The Grays," 120, 312. 

Thompson, Waddy, 206. 

Thorn, Frost, 310. 

Throckmorton, J. W., 334. 

Toledo, 42, 43, 501, 

Tonkewas, 86. 

Tonty, 6, 293. 

Travis, W. B., 98, 129-133, 323. 

Travis' Letter, 130. 

Treaty with Santa Anna, 155, 

Trespalacios, 48. 

Turtle Bayou Resolutions, 99. 

" Twin Sisters," 149. 

Tyler, President, 210. 



Ugartachea, 100, loi, 115. 
University, 257, 258, 268, 279, 280*! 
Urrea, 140, 141. 



Vasquez, 199. 
Van Zandt, I., 211, 
Vehleiu, J., 310. 
Velasco, Capture of, 100. 
Veramendi, 60. 
Veterans, Texas, 282. 
Victoria, 68, 308. 
Vince's Bridge, 149, 152. 



Wacoes, The, 81. 
Waggener, Leslie, 268. 
Walker, General, 226. 
Wainwright, Commander, 240. 
Ward, Wm. 140. 
Ward, Matthias, 346. 
Washington on the Brazos, 345. 
Waterhouse, Richard, 333. 
Waul, Thomas N., 333. 
Webster, Daniel, 330. 
" Westfield. The," 241. 
Wharton, J. A., 333. 
Wharton, William H., 104-106, 119, 
187, 191, 313. 



412 



INDEX 



Wheeler, T. B., 260. 
" White Cow," Skirmish of, 
Whitfield, J. W., 333. 
Wigfall, L. T., 333, 346. 
\\'ilkinson, General, 295. 
Williams, F. E., 278. 
Woll, Adrian, 157, 201, 202. 
Wood, George T., 222, 330. 



300. 



\\'.oodbury, J. L., 
Ysleta, 293. 

Zacetecas, 112, 113. 
Zavala, Lorenzo de, 
147, 156, 187, 315. 



108-116, 137' 




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